In The Shadow of Light
by Ace Spiritwell
Summary: Heroes and Villains are more alike than Tai would want to believe. When a hero falls into a situation that they can't get out of, will their allies help them? Their friends? Loved ones? What happens when a villain offers help? What will the other heroes and villains think? Where does Tai fit in all of this? After all, not everything is so black and white.
1. Chapter 1: The Present

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is an entertainment franchise jointly owned by Toei Animation, Bandai, and created by Akiyoshi Hongo. In The Shadow of Light is a fanfiction idea imagined and created by yours truly, Ace Spiritwell. Please respect and support the official properties.

 **Author's Note:** This is my first fanfiction in a long time and I'm not the best at spelling or grammar. I'd like to thank TheSenesX for proof reading this story and leonardo1123581321 for lots of encouragement thought out this entire year （＾ω＾） I hope you enjoy the story!

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The Present**

Heroes are viewed as people who face the evil that threatens to destroy the life and peace of the world. They go on tremendous journeys, facing and conquering their own doubts and greatest fears, ultimately defeating the wicked of the world and bring back the peace. They are selfless, compassionate, brave and smart. They overcome the evil and rise to the top. Everyone wants to be a hero, to help the ones in need, contribute to society and keep everyone safe so we can all sleep at night.

Villains, on the other hand, are the corrupt ones of the world. They destroy cities, take countless lives and spread fear among us. Plotting to kill the Hero, challenging the Hero in their journey with daunting trials of doubt and fear, putting innocent lives in danger and kidnapping the damsel in distress. Villains are without a doubt selfish, arrogant, cunning and cruel people. Taking what they desire and leaving others without, people will always cheer as the Villain is defeated and imprisoned for the damage they have caused.

How do we distinguish the heroes from the villains?

Can the hero become the villain?

Can the villain become the hero?

Do they both pay for their actions?

Or do the lines blur?

Life is not black and white, much like the roles of a hero and a villain. A hero can take as many lives as the villain, and still never be charged. The villain; however, always faces judgement, is charged and punished for their actions. The reasoning for a villain's actions is sometimes unknown, and other times, no one cares what their reasoning is. The villain could be trying to protect their loved ones or save someone else; but no one would understand what lengths they've gone to, to make that possible.

The hero's actions could be for fame and fortune, public gratitude, or for their own personal benefit. The hero could potentially manipulate those around them to falsely believe the villain is the blame. The villain could be innocent, never having hurt a soul, but the hero's lies and false testimony can condemn the villain to imprisonment or execution.

What about the ones who are forced into the hero's role?

Then everything they love and treasure is taken away?

What effects do the actions of our society have on those who fight for us?

What happens to them when they become useless to us and discarded?

But what happens when you lose all control?

* * *

"Hey, Agumon? Why is it so dark?" Tai asked his partner as he looked at the ash grey clouds that filled the sky, blocking out any sunlight. Agumon looked up at the clouds and smiled at Tai.

"Well, it's still early in the morning, maybe the sun is sleeping," Tai raised an eyebrow at his partner and shook his head. Amused by his partner's dazed state, Tai let out a laugh.

"Don't think so buddy, it's mid-afternoon. Do you think it has to do with the darkness that Gennai told me about?"

The hot winds blew around the two as they started to trek down the hills of the Digital World. The sizzling sand blew up from the grounds and into the eyes of the pair. Tai covered his eyes with his sleeve, wishing he had the goggles that he gave to Davis.

Tai thought back to his earlier conversation with Gennai before coming to the Digital World. Digimon have been going missing, Rookies through to Megas had all been disappearing over the last three months. A new dark force had awakened and appeared to be gathering allies. The readings on this new dark force suggested that when it first appeared, was the same time the disappearances began.

Gennai had also told Tai how the gates to the Digital World had opened again after being closed for nearly one and a half years. Whilst he had always planned on going back, this wasn't quite the reason he was looking for. Nevertheless, Tai had decided to go check things out, and met Agumon, before the pair had made their way to a village on the Continent of Server.

The village had welcomed Tai and Agumon as heroes. Tai had recognised the village as the village of Koromon that he met back in his first adventure. They were celebrating the festival of the Sun and asked Tai and Agumon to stay. Agumon had joined in on the celebrations whilst Tai had started to ask the Koromons about the disappearances that had been happening. The Elder Koromon asked to talk to Tai alone and explained that they had celebrated the Sun festival for years and that the celebration went on for a week before ending on the 19th of the fifth month with a huge feast. Tai couldn't help but laugh.

At least someone was celebrating on his birthday.

The Elder Koromon then explained that a weapon of old had resurfaced. The weapon belonged to one of the first Digimon who fought for the freedom and peace of all in the first war of Light and Dark. This Digimon wasn't on either side and wanted the fighting to end. Upon asking the Elder what type of weapon it could be, Tai received a less than helpful answer of, 'no one knows'. Tai really didn't understand why the hell he was receiving a history lecture, although he had brought on himself, and he had yet to find a reason as to why the Elder was even telling him about this weapon. Turns out, the Elder simply believed that Tai could find the weapon and keep it from ending up in the wrong hands. Tai had let out an exasperated sigh due to the lack of information they were walking away with but had thanked the Elder for his time.

"Tai! You're going the wrong way," Agumon shouted at his best friend. Tai blinked twice, shaking his head as he emerged from his memories. He looked over, seeing Agumon behind him, whilst he had walked on ahead veering off to the left whilst lost in thought. The wind howled around him, as Tai looked at his friend. He smiled and ran over to Agumon, who smiled back as they continued to walk together.

"Right, sorry Agumon, I guess I got carried away." Agumon looked hard at Tai like he was trying to find something. Suddenly Agumon's eyes lit up and a big grin spread across his face.

"Thinking about your birthday Tai?" He asked. Tai couldn't help himself as a sweat drop appeared on his head. He then let out a laugh and shook his head.

"Not really, my birthday isn't for another week. Besides, I have more important things to worry about, like how on earth I'm going to find ' _this mysterious weapon",_ making quotation marks in the air. "That the Elder Koromon so kindly lectured and entrusted me to protect."

"Well, that's elders for ya."

"I mean, seriously, how am I supposed to find something when I have no clue as to what it looks like?"

"I think you're letting your attention be split up more than it needs to. Didn't the Elder tell you that you'll know it when you see it?"

"Yeah but…"

"So don't worry about it. It'll come when it does, and for now, we can focus on the missing Digimon." Agumon left no room for arguments, and Tai found himself taking comfort in his partner's reasoning. At least now, they had a plan; find out what happened to the missing Digimon, and wait for the weapon to supposedly appear in front of him. It wasn't a great plan, but Tai felt reassured knowing at least they had something to go on. Agumon led the way through the sandy terrain, and Tai smiled, following his partner. They trekked on for a while until Tai stopped and raised an eyebrow at Agumon.

"Say, you said I was headed in the wrong direction before and you don't have the slightest clue where the weapon is, nor do you know anything about the missing digimon, so where on Earth are we going?" He asked his partner. Agumon looked at him and gave his signature grin.

"Firstly, we're not on Earth, and secondly, I heard of a really good place to get noodles so I wanted to try it out." Tai looked at Agumon in silence for a few seconds, letting his response soak in…

Then he faced palmed.

"Seriously, is food the only thing on your mind?"

"Hey! I haven't eaten since the party last night, and we left early this morning so I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast!" Agumon's somewhat defensive response proved that food was not a matter to be messed with.

Tai let out a sigh. He put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a snack of some kind….it didn't really look edible.

"If you would like something to eat, feel free to have the liver sticks that Mum made." Agumon smiled at Tai, and grabbing the sticks he dug in. He held one out to Tai, but Tai politely refused with a nervous laugh, saying that Agumon could eat them all. Agumon shrugged.

"More for me," he said, continuing to eat.

' _He's the only one who would willingly eat Mum's cooking,'_ Tai thought shaking his head.

As the two continued walking, Tai felt a pull to his right. Looking over, he saw the outline of an object in the distance. The pull towards this object grew stronger with every step Tai took. Spotting Tai walk off to the right, Agumon called out to Tai in annoyance; probably thinking Tai was abandoning their quest for noodles again.

"Tai! You're going the wrong way. The noodle shop is this way!" He whined to his retreating friend whilst pointing in the opposite direction.

Tai didn't answer and gestured for Agumon to follow him with his hand. The sand began to pick up, wind blowing in their faces as Tai and Agumon walked closer to the object. The object was still difficult to see in the far distance. The sky appeared inky-black, and Tai continued to journey towards the mysterious object in the distance.

"TAI! WE NEED TO PULL BACK! THE STORM IS GETTING WORSE!" Agumon yelled at the top of his lungs, the wind carrying his voice to Tai. Hesitating, the teenage boy looked back at his friend. Turning around he began walking towards the calmer skies where Agumon waited, but the object called to him. Feeling the pull at his back, it was too strong for Tai to ignore.

"I NEED TO CHECK OUT WHAT'S OVER HERE!" Tai yelled, not realising that his reasoning to checking out the object was lost in the loud winds around them.

"LET'S NOT! ANYWAY, IT'S TOO DANGEROUS FOR US TO CONTINUE HEADING THIS WAY. WE NEED TO MOVE ON!"

"I CAN'T!"

"TRY! ALL I'M GETTING IS SAND IN MY MOUTH AND I WANTED NOODLES!"

"AGUMON!" The rookie Digimon flinched at the way Tai said his name. Tai rarely used the leader-tone with the group, but when he did they all had a hard time saying no. Agumon ran to his partner's side, covering his eyes with his arm. As the duo got closer, the object they had been seeking finally stood before them, bringing them to an abrupt halt. It was clear that the object was a temple. Looking at each other, Tai and Agumon broke into a sprint and entered the temple, trying to get out of the storm. They leaned against the walls of the entrance of the temple to catch their breath and, in Agumon's case, to remove the sand in their mouth.

"Well… at least we're out of the storm," Agumon stated dryly. Tai looked around the entrance of the ivory coloured temple, Pillars lined the open entrance to the temple, covered in DigiCode that he couldn't read. Broken benches lined the walls but they weren't stable enough to sit on. Tai looked down into a dark hallway, still feeling a magnetic pull to go further inside.

Seeing Agumon plop to the ground, Tai said, "let's rest for a bit" then sat down next to Agumon, felling the uneven floor that was caused by many feet that entered the temple.

Turning to glare at Tai, Agumon first salty words were, "Still upset about those noodles. What was so important about coming here? We could be eating at this very moment!"

Tai smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head, making a mental note that he owed Agumon noodles.

"Sorry buddy, I…um.." Tai thought back to the pulling sensation he had but didn't know how to describe what he was feeling. "Do you remember the slight pull you and I got when we first found the Crest of Courage?"

"Yeah, we're connected to the Crest of Courage so it was calling out to us." Agumon tilted his head to the side, scratching his head with a claw.

"Well I felt a pull just like that, but it was stronger. I can still feel it, coming from that direction," Tai said, pointing to a passage that led deeper into the temple.

Agumon nodded, "Why didn't you tell me this before? I would have been happy to follow you without you giving me an order. I would have said we could skip the noodles."

"I gave you an order?" Tai said looking confused.

"Yep! You used your 'Leader-tone' with me. Me of all Mon!"

"Sorry buddy." Tai leant down, giving Agumon a hug. Agumon put his arms around Tai's neck, and when Tai pulled away, he felt an extra weight around his neck. Looking down, he saw a small pendant which now hung around his neck. It was made from brown string and was tied in a macramé style. In a little pouch at the bottom was a gemstone, black with flecks bits of red in it. Tai admired the pendant, amazed by the craftsmanship.

"It's…beautiful. W-why did you put it around my neck?" Tai said looking Agumon in the eyes, before noticing Agumon also had a pendant around his neck, identical to his own.

"It's Bloodstone. Gatomon and I travelled through a village market, she was helping me find a birthday present. We came across a shop that was selling gemstones and I saw that one. I asked the shopkeeper what it was, and she explained what the stone was to me. It represents purification, vitality and courage. I bought two straight away, and Gatomon suggested I make them into necklaces, so I took a class in macramé. The Digimon in charge was really nice and helped me make them. I was going to wait a week, but I get the feeling you should have it now," Agumon said, finishing his story.

Tai couldn't help but smile, holding the pendant. He knew it was going to be important to him and pulled Agumon in for another hug.

"Thanks Agumon! It's the best present ever. I'll treasure it forever." The two pulled away from their embrace, and smiled at each other, holding their pendants in their hands.

"Happy 16th Birthday Tai"

* * *

"Uh! This corridor is going on forever,"

"Just a little more Agumon, I can feel it,"

The footsteps of the two echoed throughout the temple as they exited the dark, narrow, uneven hallway into a musty smelling room, the only light coming from the torch that Tai was carrying. Tai and Agumon looked around the room in amazement.

Pillars circled the rounded room. A tattered tapestry and banners hung from the walls, lightly blowing in the wind coming through the cracks of the rough, stone walls. Sand filled the room, and the dusty are made the pair of friends coughed as they lit up the torches that were around the room. The storm could still be heard from outside.

"Wow, this place has been abandoned for years," Tai stated as he looked at the tapestry on the left side of the room. He held his torch to the artwork embroidered onto the fabric, the flame flickers as Tai could make out, what he guessed was a description of a battle that happened a long time ago.

"Izzy would've loved this place," Tai chuckled to himself. His smile left his face as he thought of his closest human friend. It had been a while since he'd hung out with Izzy. He was always too busy on his computer doing something and Tai respected that. But it wouldn't be too bad if Izzy could leave his computer to hang out.

Tai shook his head as he continued to look around the room. He saw more DigiCode written on the pillars like the ones on the hallways and in the entrance. Tai pulled out his phone and tried to take a picture of the code for Izzy but growled in frustration as his phone refused to turn on.

"Hey Tai?" Agumon called out. Tai looked over to see Agumon had made his way to the centre of the room, on a raised platform with a plinth in the centre of it. Making his way over to his partner he saw why Agumon had called him. The plinth was decorated with the eight crests that he and his friends owned. What was buried within the plinth was a longsword. Tai could feel the pull stronger than before. His eyes locked on to it.

"I think we found the weapon that the Elder Koromon was telling you about, why didn't he say it was a sword?" Agumon looked over to his friend with a raised "eyebrow."

"He said that no one knew what it was, the better question is why is the sword calling to me?" Agumon could help but chuckle.

"Who knows, maybe it's your destiny to pull the sword from the stone," Agumon said in a teasing matter smiling a goofy grin, Tai caught on and gave a big, goofy grin back.

"Who am I? King Arthur?"

"Probably! If that's so then I must be Merlin the Wise,"

"Ha, more like Merlin the Gluttony,"

"Hey! Just pull out the damn sword,"

Both of the boys started to laugh as Tai walked up to the plinth. His grin faded as he looked at the sword, he could have sworn that the sword was telling him to pick it up. He reached out his hand towards the handle. His finger barely touched the handle when a blast came out of the sword. The torches blew out as both Agumon and Tai were blasted towards the back wall, coursing some rubble to fall. Agumon pushed Tai out of the way of the rubble and the two coughed as dust and sand was kicked up in the air.

"What was that?" Agumon asked, awe present in his voice.

"I don't know," Tai whispered as he looked at the sword. It started to glow a warm orange, the same as his crest. The light was bright enough to chase away the darkness within the room.

Agumon came up and whacked Tai on his back and Tai looked at his friend, cross.

"Ow! What has that for?" Tai yelped, rubbing the back on his head.

"For almost getting us crushed," Agumon started, crossing his arms and tapping his foot.

"You said for me to touch the swor…" A humming noise stopped Tai in his tracks as he looked back at the sword. The warm orange glow had taken over the sword and it started to change shape. The two marvelled at the sword as the orange glow went away and the long sword was gone. A chokutō had taken its place.

"Wow, it just changed shape," Agumon walked over to it to get a closer look.

Down the blade, he could see DigiCode engraved in gold. The grip was wrapped in a beautiful burnt orange fabric with black diamonds decorating the grip. The guard and pommel were gold. The pommel itself was shaped into the crest of courage.

"...I think the sword belongs to you now Tai, It has the crest of Courage."

Tai walked over to the sword and looked it over.

"It would also explain the pull you were feeling, the sword was calling out to you."

Tai was in awe, he never had a sword up close before... besides the ones that Piedmon tried to kill him with, but they don't count.

So many questions flowed through his mind. Why me? What does the sword want with him? Why did it change shape? What was that blast? Does Gennai know about this? What should he do? Will it help him with the new evil that is threatening the Digital World?

Tai goes to pull out the chokutō again but stopped when he heard the echo of footsteps fill the room. Both Agumon and himself turned to the entrance to see a priestess digimon walk out of the shadows. Tai's eyes widen, he's never seen a digimon so beautiful before...Ok, Lilymon was a very pretty digimon, not that the two had anything on Sora.

Tai shook his head to get the image of Sora out of his head before turning his attention back to the digimon in front of him.

"Hello, I'm Tai and this is Agumon, who are you?" Tai asked politely, giving a warm smile. The digimon didn't reply, she placed a finger on her chin, her right hand, encased in a golden gauntlet, supported her left arm as she tapped her cheek.

Tai felt himself go stiff as the digimon looked at him with piercing blue eyes. The light danced around her face, showing her pale skin, highlighted by the purple makeup she was wearing along with a familiar mark on the digimon's forehead. The delicate air about her suggested something other than sweetness.

"My, my, You've grown up cute," The digimon said in a seductive, yet calm voice. Tai gave an uneasy smile as he rocked from side to side.

"Um, Thanks..."

"Lilithmon. I'm Lilithmon, gorgeous," The digimon, Lilithmon said. Her purple robes draped around her body, which was being shown off by the tight leather suit she was wearing underneath. Tai shifted from side to side, feeling unease. Sure, he had been asked out by other girls at his school, but he'd never really felt comfortable about it. He had tried to go out on dates with them but he always apologised to them, saying that he wasn't interested. They always understood, saying the girl who had his heart was very lucky.

"So, what brings someone like you out here?" Lilithmon asked, her voice echoing off the walls.

"I'm sorry, I can't really tell you," Tai replied, his eyes locked onto Lilithmon, hoping that she didn't know about the sword next to him. Tai wanted to grab the sword and leave but he didn't want to provoke Lilithmon to attack them.

Lilithmon's hand dropped from her chin down so her arms were folded. "Aw, that's a shame." She watched Tai as he stood in front of Agumon, not removing his gaze from her. Tai waited for her to continue her but he was meet with silents.

"Um, so what kind of digimon are you?" Tai asked. "Do you live around here or something?"

"I can't tell you that." She giggled.

Tai paused. A cool breeze brushed against his cheek. "Why not?"

She swayed on her feet and her mouth remained shut in a sharp smile.

"I think I want you by my side," Lilithmon said. The temperature of the room dropped several degrees colder than a desert should be around this time of day. Tai could see his breath. He started to push Agumon towards the entrance to the room behind them.

"I'm sorry, I don't think you're my type, anyway my heart belongs to someone else...And I'm not a digimon anyway," Tai apologized politely and kept pushing Agumon towards the exit. He was getting a bad feeling off Lilithmon and he knew Agumon could also feel it. He wasn't sure what was with her but he didn't want to find out.

"Heh heh, That wasn't a request," Lilithmon shot some kind of black shards towards the pair. Tai immediately pushed Agumon out of the way.

"AGUMON! LOOK OUT!" Tai was hit in the centre of his chest and was thrown into the opposite wall to them and was knocked out. Agumon ran over to Tai as fast as he could.

"TAI!"

* * *

Everything moved in slow motion for Agumon. He could only look on in horror.

"TAI!" He shouted as he ran to his partner's side. Agumon put a claw to his forehead and felt Tai's temperature drop. Removing his claw he saw crimson liquid on it, slightly pixelated.

' _This isn't good. I need to get him back to the Human World and to Joe, he can help._ ' Agumon looked over Tai to see if there were any more injuries. When he saw none he felt relieved, then anger washed over him. He looked over to Lilithmon who was giggling to herself.

"He's an interesting one, I've never met someone who hasn't fallen for my charm before," Lilithmon stated, looking down at Tai's unconscious form.

"WHAT THE HELL! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" Agumon yelled at her, his rage boiling up inside of him. Not just at Lilithmon but himself as well, he's Tai's partner, he should have been the one to get hit.

Agumon looking into Lilithmon's eyes, he had expected them to look cruel and cold but there was something else. He couldn't place it but the look seemed familiar. Her eyes didn't change as a smile twisted upon her cheeks. She gave off an air of superiority and it sent a shiver down Agumon's spine.

Agumon stood up straight and spread his arms in front of Tai. In response to his actions, Lilithmon gave a small chuckle while shaking her head.

"If you give him to me, I won't hurt you and you can leave here without any hassle," Lilithmon offered with a calm voice, her left hand reaching out to grab Tai. Agumon just growled at her. He felt courage built up in him and started to feel stronger.

"Over my dead body!"

The Digivice on Tai's belt started to go off. A bright light came from it and Lilithmon covered her face and backed away from the light, hissing at it. Agumon felt Tai's courage, as well as his own, fill him up. The power kept on building and Agumon noticed that Tai's chest was glowing orange. He didn't realize that Tai could help him digivolve when unconscious.

" **AGUMON! WARP DIGIVOLVE TO….WARGREYMON!** "

As the light faded WarGreymon looked at himself a bit amazed. Tai managed to get him all the way to mega while unconscious. He was a little in awe. He looked over to Lilithmon, expecting her to be shocked, but instead, she looked amazed.

"Wow, you just went straight to mega. I shouldn't be surprised, he is a Digidestined after all," Lilithmon said in a hushed voice. WarGreymon was taken aback.

WarGreymon shook his head, without a second thought he scooped up Tai and flew up and out of the temple as fast as he could, breaking the ceiling in the process. The storm outside had stopped but the sky was still filled with harsh clouds. WarGreymon was grateful that the storm had calmed down, it made it easier to look around for a TV or any kind of portal he could use to get Tai out of here.

He looked down at his best friend and saw his face screwed up in pain and shivering. Whatever that digimon did had hurt Tai and had made him freezing cold. WarGreymon felt worry fill his system as he held Tai close to his body to keep him warm.

He flew for a while, seeing nothing but an ocean of sand. WarGreymon looked behind him to see if anyone was following them. When he saw no one he let out a sigh of relief.

"Nazar Nail!" A feminine voice yelled out. WarGreymon didn't have time to react as a gold gauntlet came down on his face. Screaming in pain, he fell from the sky and hit the ground hard. WarGreymon curled himself up to protect Tai from the fall. Looking up he sees Lilithmon in the air looking down on him.

"I don't want to fight you WarGreymon, but Tai belongs to me now, hand him over" Lilithmon ordered with a cold tone, looking at Tai with lustful eyes. WarGreymon couldn't help but growl at her.

"He's _My_ partner! I'll never hand him over." He snarled at Lilithmon. The lady digimon gave a sigh and shook her head. Her face then turned into a sharp smile and looked down to him as if he was a bug.

"Fine, I guess you're my enemy." She chuckled, and with that, she launched at WarGreymon again.

WarGreymon dodged out of the way of some shards but a few struck him around the body. He took to the sky, his face was burning in pain, unable to stop with Lilithmon behind them. Lilithmon shot another attack for him to dodge again. The two weaved in and out of each other's reach at lightning speed. Sometimes Lilithmon's attacks would hit WarGreymon and he'd start to fall out of the sky only to recover and retreat further into the dusty terrain.

WarGreymon saw some greenery in the distance. If that greenery was trees, he could use them as coverage to hide where he and Tai were. It would also give time for WarGreymon to heal up before facing Lilithmon again.

As the green, lush, trees took over the landscape, WarGreymon used this opportunity to find a tree he could sit Tai in for a bit. He heard the snapping of branches and the cracking of rocks to know that the unwelcome opponent had arrived. He moved from tree to tree, trying to stay as quiet as possible, so not too alert Lilithmon to their position.

" _Oh, WarGreymon~ come out, come out, wherever you are_ ~" Lilithmon sang.

WarGreymon looked around to find which direction her voice was coming from as it echoed all around him. Walking backwards, he didn't realize the branch on the ground and stepped on it. A huge crack was heard throughout the thick forest.

"Found you," Lilithmon whispered into WarGreymon's ear.

He turned around only to be struck down. He groaned in pain and made a run for it. He couldn't fight back. If he did he'll have to put Tai down or in danger and he couldn't risk that.

A rumble in the sky was made and it started to pelt down. The ground became slippery and made it harder to run. WarGreymon scanned everywhere for one item he needed more than anything. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw a TV. He couldn't help but smile. Finally, he and Tai could get some help. He made a beeline for it. He was so close. Then light blue shards hit WarGreymon in the back causing him to fall down. Tai fell out of his arms and rolled away.

Lilithmon looked at WarGreymon with annoyance as he stood in front of Tai. WarGreymon was about to intimidate her but his voice came out as rasped breaths. WarGreymon looked over to his unconscious partner to see him injured from the fight.

"WarGreymon, this will be your last chance. Hand over Tai and you'll live. I'll even make sure you live through everything that is coming." Lilithmon offered. WarGreymon just let out a growl.

Lilithmon shook her head in disappointment and muttered something about 'wasting a strong digimon' before giving a sharp smile. She launched an attack at the WarGreymon

"Phantom Pain!"

The attack hit WarGreymon in the chest and he cried out. His body was covered in a dark aura and he started to glitch. Tai's Digivice activated and the TV started to glow. WarGreymon fell backwards and the area was consumed by the light.

* * *

The sun was shining down on Odaiba during a warm, pleasant spring afternoon. Kids were leaving school and rushing to get home or to go to their club activities. Many students and parents alike walked in the streets talking about their day.

Kari was walking by herself towards her brother's school. While the Elementary and Middle Schools were combined due to the attacks from Myotismon, the High School was left separated due to the higher level of the schooling the students required.

Kari looked amongst the teens wearing the blue uniform, waiting to glimpse that familiar mess of brown hair. With her attention elsewhere, she walked straight into another student.

"Ah, I'm sorry," Kari said while bowing to show respect to the senior student. "I'm a little distracted."

"Kari? Is everything ok?"

Kari looked up at the familiar voice to see the blond keeper of friendship and her brothers best friend, Matt. A slight smile of relief filled her face.

"Matt! I'm so glad to see you. Have you seen Tai today?" Kari asked urgently.

A worried expression came across Matt's face. He took Kari's hand and walked her to the side of the gate so they were out of the way of the leaving students.

"No, he wasn't at school today. I thought he was unwell and stayed home." Matt was taken back as Kari looked to be on the verge of tears. He placed a hand on her back and started to rub it.

"What's happening? Is Tai ok?"

"I don't know! I've been trying to reach him all day! He won't answer his phone at all, no matter how many times I call him! I haven't seen him since yesterday morning!"

Kari's panicked voice made Matt rather upset at Tai. He always answered Kari's calls and if he missed them, he would call her back. Matt wanted to know what would make Tai think that it's ok to upset his younger sister? Matt pulled out his phone and dialled Tai's number. He waited for Tai to answer, but instead, the phone rang out and when to Tai's voice mail.

" _This is Kamiya Taichi, I can't reach the phone right now, please leave a message and I'll call you back. Thank-you._ "

Tai's voice rang in Matt's ear before a beep. Matt hung up the phone and pocketed it. He looked down to Kari who was sitting against the wall of the school gate. He kneeled down and gave her a small but comforting smile.

"I'm going to go look for Sora. If someone would know where Tai could be, it's her. And if I can't find her, we'll go look for Izzy, ok?" Kari just nodded as she tried to call Tai again. Matt shook his head and ran back into the school.

He ran through the halls of the school searching for the red-headed bearer of Love. He looked in her classroom and the classrooms for the other classes, the cafeteria and the outside of the school. He managed to run into two of her friends that were separate from the Digidestined.

One of the girls refused to tell him where Sora was while the other said that Sora left early because her mother needed her to help with the flower shop. Matt thanked the two girls and ran back to Kari who was still trying to reach Tai via the phone.

Kari looked up as she heard Matt's footsteps and gave him a hopeful look as she searched for Sora. Matt felt like his heart was being stabbed with a hot knife when Kari's hopeful look faded from her face. He swallowed the lump in his throat and gave her another smile.

"Come on, don't give up hope. We'll go talk to Izzy and I'm sure he'll know what to do," Matt said encouragingly and helped Kari to her feet. Kari in return gave a small nod.

Matt let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his head.

' _T.K., Davis and Tai are way better than me when it comes to getting other's hopes up,_ ' he thought. He looked at Kari to see she was taking a deep breath.

"Sorry about that, I'm just worried," Kari said. "I'm just concerned with how Tai's been acting lately."

Matt raised an eyebrow. Had Tai been acting differently? He thought back to the last time he saw Tai. He remembered that Tai was feeling rather down about what happened at school earlier this week, nothing unexpected, but other than that he didn't really see anything wrong. What did he miss?

"Is he ok?" Matt asked in a sincere tone. Kari looked down at the flowers they were passing on the edge of the footpath and stopped walking. Matt looked over to her with concern. People walked all around them, acting like nothing was happening, just trying to get to where they needed to go. Kari looked over to Matt with a guilty expression.

"I don't know," Kari whispered.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked.

Kari started to walk again, taking over Matt. She hugged her arms as she let out a sigh. "Tai and I haven't really talked lately. So I don't really know what's going on."

Kari pulled out a rose gold locket around her neck. It was in the shape of the crest of light. Tai had it custom made for her birthday this year and she hadn't taken it off since. But she didn't tell Tai that. She opened it to a picture of her and Tai before they went to the Digital World that fateful summer.

"But he has been rather down and I think it's my fault."

Matt placed a supportive hand on her shoulder, trying his best to comfort the girl."I don't think that's true. Tai loves you. I doubt you're the problem."

Kari looked away from Matt.

The pair walked through the park that was blooming with life. The green trees swayed in the gentle breeze. The smell of freshly cut grass complemented the aroma of flowers that were scattered around the fields. The sound of laughter that came from the children playing around while parents chatted to one another while keeping an eye on their children. Matt and Kari saw a certain red-haired boy sitting on one of the benches, typing away on his trusty laptop. Hope filled Kari's heart as she ran over to the older boy.

"Izzy!" Kari yelled out.

Izzy looked up from his screen. "Hey guys. Have you seen Tai? I kind of reached a block in the new information I was going through about the code of the Digital World itself I discovered recently and decided to take a break and help Tai out with some homework he missed on Monday."

Panic ran through Kari's system as she heard those words. Her chest tightened, her breathing became uneven and tears started to fall down her cheeks. If Izzy didn't know where Tai was, who would? Izzy was Tai's closest friend! The hope that she had was now washing away.

Izzy and Matt noticed Kari's beginning of a panic attack and got her to sit on the bench. Matt filled Izzy in on what he and Kari had been talking about and Tai's sudden disappearance. Izzy told Kari to take deep breaths and to listen to the nature around her while Matt gave her physical comfort.

"Kari, could you please explain the situation?" Izzy asked in a calm tone, not to set the girl off.

"No one at home has seen him since he left for school yesterday and we can't reach him!" Kari said. "I don't understand. Why would he run away?"

She cried into her hands asking 'Why Tai? Why?' over and over again. The boys didn't really know what to do. Kari was clearly distressed and the best person to calm her down was the reason she was upset.

"Don't worry, I'm sure there's an explanation for this," Izzy said while giving a comforting smile. Matt gave a nod to agree with Izzy while rubbing Kari's back. Kari placed her hands in her lap, not looking at either of the older boys.

"Tai's a very strong person, I'm sure he's on the way home now," Matt said.

Kari shook her head, her eyes red and tears streaming down her face. Her hands curled up into a fist. "THIS ISN'T NORMAL! TAI WOULDN'T RUN AWAY LIKE THIS! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"

Both of the elder Digidestined looked at Kari in shock. They knew that Kari could never hurt Tai in a way to make him run away. There's had to be another reason.

"You haven't done anything. We'll find him," Matt said softly. Kari didn't move or reply to Matt. Tears still ran down her face, her hand gripped firmly around her locket.

Izzy gave a small smile."I agree. I'm sure Tai's safe," Izzy said.

Izzy's laptop started to make beeping noises that pulled everyone out of their conversation. Izzy pulled up the laptop from the side of the bench and placed it on his lap. He tapped away at his keyboard. Matt and Kari moved off the bench and walked behind Izzy to see what he was doing. To everyone's surprise, a gate to the Digital World appeared on the screen

"Well, that's cliché," Matt said in a deadpan tone.

Izzy shook his head. "The Gate? But it's been closed for almost a year and a half now!"

Kari's eyes filled with hope. She wiped away her tears and gave a big smile.

"That's it! Tai went to the Digital World to cool off and now he's sending a message or coming back home!" Kari's voice was full of excitement.

Matt and Izzy both had guilty expressions come across their faces. Tai had asked them if they were free yesterday. When they both replied with no, Tai looked rather disappointed. The look on his face faded into a smile as he reassured them that it was ok and ran off to do whatever he was doing.

' _When Tai asked me if I was free, I didn't know he was going to the Digital World. I would have come.'_ Izzy thought, he pictured a ladybug digimon calling out his name. Nagging him to get off the computer and be with his friends. He couldn't help but give a weak smile.

' _Why the hell didn't he tell me? I would've dropped everything and gone with him!'_ Matt knew Tai could be indirect, but he must know that his friends are ready to help him whenever he needs them. Surely?

Kari tapped the elder digidestined on the shoulder and gave them a big grin. Matt could recognise her brother in that smile.

"Let's go to a secluded part of the park so Tai can come out without others watching," Kari said.

Both of the boys blinked at Kari's sudden enthusiasm. Matt felt a smile come across his face. He placed a hand on Izzy's arm and started to pull him up. Izzy shook his head and blushed a little at being so slow and finished getting up himself.

"U-uh, right! Let's g-go." Izzy stuttered as the group walked away from the main area of the park.

The group headered to an area they knew that not a lot of people came by. The digidestined used this area a fair bit to have meetings and to hang out away from prying eyes. When they got to the spot the gate on Izzy's screen changed from closed to open.

"Ah! The gate's open! everyone, step back!" Izzy yelled.

He placed the laptop on the ground and pushed the others back. A bright light filled the area, forcing the group to cover their eyes. A figure stumbled backwards out of the screen before falling onto their back. As the light died down, Kari, Matt and Izzy saw that the figure, wasn't Tai, but a certain dino-man digimon.

"WARGREYMON?!" Kari gasped as she ran over to the unconscious digimon. Izzy and Matt stood there in shock to see the Mega there.

"What? Why is WarGreymon here?" Izzy asked. He ran to his laptop and started to check for any other signs of life around where the Mega came out. Matt ran over to Izzy and saw the gate was covered in a black shadow. They couldn't tell where WarGreymon had come from.

"Shit!" Was all that Matt could say. Matt looked over to Kari to see how bad WarGreymon looked. He was covered in a grim aura and was glitching with shadows of his previous forms showing up around him. Kari placed her hand on his chest and a pink aura surrounded her hand before spreading to WarGreymon, taking away the dark aura and most of the glitch. Kari could see cuts and blood all over the dino-man with some shards in his armour.

"He's injured! We need to help him!" Kari cried out. She turned to the others for help.

"Joe! We need you here right now!" Izzy was already on the phone. Kari turned to Matt to see if he could help.

Matt pulled out his own phone and dialled. "Davis, call up the rest of your team. We're having an emergency meeting. Get here as soon as you can. I understand that you have things to do but this is important! I…talk to your coach and get a hold of the others, we...Kari needs you here." Matt had an authoritative tone in his voice. While it didn't have the same effect as Tai, it still did the job… Kind of. Kari smiled that her two friends were taking action.

Matt walked over to Kari while Izzy was calling all of the other digidestined. He kneeled down next to Kari and looked over WarGreymon. Kari watched him shake his head as he muttered about the fact that it shouldn't be hard to get the gang together in an emergency.

"Is he ok?" His voice was soft and full of worry. The smile on Kari's face faded once again as she looked over her brother's partner.

"No, he's covered in blood and glitching," Kari said.

Matt gave her a side hug. He took off his jacket and gave it to Kari, who started to clean up the blood off WarGreymon. Matt's sure his dad wouldn't mind if he ruined his school jacket so long as he explained the situation.

"If WarGreymon is here…" Matt couldn't find the strength to finish the sentence. Worry filled him as the image of his friend came to his mind, bearing the grin Kari had moments ago.

Kari looked up and filled the silence.

"Then where's Tai?"

* * *

 **And that is a wrap! The first chapter is done! This, along with chapter two was supposed to come out on Halloween but since this chapter was all finished I decided to post it a week early! The next one will be out on Halloween so keep an eye out for it!** **What's going to happen next chapter? Who knows but me** **ψ(｀∇´)ψ**

 **Anyways, Follow, Favourite and Review if you like it! If you have any feedback please Review, it'll be a great help for me!**


	2. Chapter 2: A New Threat

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is an entertainment franchise jointly owned by Toei Animation, Bandai, and created by Akiyoshi Hongo. In The Shadow of Light is a fanfiction idea imagined and created by yours truly, Ace Spiritwell. Please respect and support the official properties.

 **Author's Note:** I'm not the best at spelling or grammar. I'd like to thank TheSenesX for proof reading this story and leonardo1123581321 as this story is dedicated to him. I forgot to say that 1st chapter (^_^;) But check out his stories! I love his Digimon Tamer series. Check them out (^_^)

* * *

 **Chapter 2: A New Threat**

" _We need you at the park as soon as you can get here! Something big has come up and we need everyone to debrief the situation and get some answers,"_ Izzy's voice rang over the phone.

"I'm not sure if I can, Izzy," Sora replied, aware of his worried tone. "I'm working with mum at the moment and I don't think I'm allowed to leave the house." She felt the guilt build up in her stomach. She would love to go and see what was happening and if she could help but her mother was very clear.

" _Sora, this is an emergency! I'm sure Mrs Takenouchi would_ _understand if you explained!" He sighed. "This shouldn't be this hard...Look, try to get to the park by 5. If it's any later message me so we know. I have to go, Kari needs me. See you then."_

Sora listened to the dead line before placing down the shop's phone. Izzy mentioning Kari had her started to worry about what could have happened. Why didn't Izzy tell her what was going? Are the Digimon ok? The Digital World? Tai?

Sora walked to the front of the store to see her mother Toshiko finish helping a customer. Toshiko glanced at her.

" Why was Izzy calling, Sora?" Toshiko asked as she started on her next flower arrangement.

Sora picked up the broom and started to sweep the floor of the shop. "He called for an _emergency_ _meeting_ at the park around 5 tonight. It's in an hour and a half. It's near closing time and…"

"You're grounded. You're not going, Sora."

Sora looked at Toshiko with a pleading look. She didn't want to let the others down and was concerned about what was going on that had Izzy so worried, worried enough that he called the meeting and not Tai.

"Mum, I don't know what's going on but Izzy couldn't stay on the phone because he had to be with Kari. I don't know if Tai's ok or not. He wasn't at school today and what if it has something to do with the Di…" Sora started to ramble but Toshiko wasn't going to have any of it.

"No! I don't want you to run into danger because something on the computer goes beep!" Toshiko looked down at an arrangement of stunning orange, yellow and red flowers in a beautiful shape of a sun. Sora watched as tears fell from Toshiko's face. She wiped them away before giving Sora a stern look.

"Either way, you're not going."

Silence hung in the air as the two looked at each other. Neither said anything as they tried to read what the other was thinking. Eventually, Toshiko let out a sigh. She walked over to her daughter and gave her a hug full of all of the love and worry she felt for her only child. Toshiko gave out a small laugh as Sora hugged back. She cut off Sora with a small squeeze when she went to speak.

"But what I say won't stop you. You love your friends and the Digital World, so even if I said no, you would sneak out of the house to go anyway. Please be home by 7 and stay safe." Toshiko whispered to Sora.

Sora let out a smile as she hugged her mother tighter.

"Thank you! Thank you! This means so much to me!" Sora said, her voice full of excitement. She could go and help out the others.

Toshiko placed her hands on her hips and gave Sora another stern look.

"In exchange for this, you'll have to work in the store over the weekend and you'll be grounded next week too. If Izzy or Tai or whoever is in charge calls another meeting you can also go to those but _only the meetings_ and if necessary the Digital World. Do I make myself clear?" Toshiko asked.

Sora nodded showing her understanding. She hugged Toshiko again in gratitude.

* * *

"Bye Mum! See you around 7!" Sora called out as she left the shop and got onto her bike, riding away from her waving mother. Toshiko smiled as she watched her daughter leave.

When her daughter was out of sight Toshiko's smile fell as she went back into the shop. She walked over to the shop's phone, looked around to see no customers and dialled the number of someone she hadn't talked to in a few months.

"Hello? Yuuko? This is Toshiko. How are you?" Toshiko listened to Yuuko talk about her day with a flat voice. She was about to ask if she was ok but had an urge to ask about something that Sora mentioned.

"I was wondering if I could talk to Tai if he's free at the moment. Uh-huh, what? Tai's missing?"

Toshiko felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. The bad feeling she got when Sora said that she was going to the meeting became worse and she worried about the well-being of the boy that she had grown to think of like a son. She swallowed the lump in her throat before talking again.

"Yuuko, Sora went off to a meeting with the others. I think it's about _their work_. I have a very bad feeling about this and I'm worried for Sora, Tai and their friends."

* * *

Sora's hair blew in the breeze as she made her way through the city towards the meeting spot. The sky started to gain a yellow hue was night started to near. Stores were busy as the last of the customers rushed in to get items for dinner as work started to finish up.

People darted from place to place as some restaurants started to open up before the dinner rush. The sound of cars and trains rang through the city, mixing with the chatter of pedestrians on their way out to dinner or going home for the day.

Sora smiled at all of the action that was going on around her. Odaiba was as busy as always. It never was like this in the Digital World. You could always hear the swaying of trees and the crunch of the ground while walking through the different biomes. There was a peace you couldn't get in a city… Well, as peaceful as you could get in a world full of monsters.

Her bike bounced up and down as she made her way along the gravel pavement in the park. Listening to the birds sing, she looked for the bike rack to chain up her bike. Once her bike was secured, she started to walk over to the meeting point. She watched all the life in the park and felt at peace that everything was safe. They saved both worlds twice and people can enjoy their life because of the group's efforts.

Sora closed her eyes and listened to the peace around her as she came up to the meeting place. She heard the voices of her friends and opened her eyes to see T.K., Yolei, Cody and Davis standing in a circle. They were a bit away from where the meetings normally take place but that wasn't important. Sora smiled and started to jog up to where the others were. She could make out a few words on what was being said.

"I hope everything is ok."

"Ya. This came out of the blue and nothing has happened over the past year or so."

"I'm sure Tai will fill us in when he gets here."

"Hey guys!" Sora said. The group turned around to see Sora and they all let out a smile. Yolie ran up to her older friend and gave her a crushing hug. Sora smiled and hugged the girl back as their other friends came to her.

Sora smiled at them all as she greeted the younger group of Digidestined.

"I'm so glad to see you Sora!" Yolei said, beaming a smile at Sora. Davis approached Sora and placed his arm around her shoulders and gave her a big goofy grin.

"So, what is this about the mother of the group and our fierce leader getting into trouble at school?" Davis clasped his hands and started to rub them together, his look turning mischievous. Sora felt the heat rise to her cheeks and looked away from the group.

"I-it's nothing. Just a little fight at school," Sora said. She looked to the ground and thought back to Monday and the reason she was grounded.

"I heard that Tai roundhouse kicked somebody," Cody mentioned while he looked at Sora with a raised eyebrow. Yolei and Ken's demeanours turned to ones of concern while Davis started to chuckle.

"Sora got into a fight?! I thought I'd never hear that! Let alone one with Tai! What happened?" While Davis was still grinning, his eyes did show concern for Sora and Tai.

T.K. let out a small growl and elbowed Davis in the side. Davis let out a small yelp and grabbed his side and the two boys glared at one another before T.K. turned to Sora with a small frown.

"Tai isn't one to take out his anger on others. What could have caused Tai to get into a fight?" T.K. asked while placing a hand on Sora's shoulder. Sora gave out a small sigh.

"Well, when Tai and I met up at the entrance to the school, we decided to walk to class together. Everything was normal, some of Tai's teammates called us a 'cute couple' as we walked together before Takato, Judai and John joined us to get to class." Sora gave a small smile remembering the small blush on Tai's face when he's soccer buddies called them a couple. She found it rather cute to see him flustered like that. Her she smile faded.

"Then we passed a group of guys from another class bad mouthing about the Digimon and the incidences that have happened over the past 4 years. They were saying said that all Digimon are scum and need to be erased. I remember getting rather upset hearing that and grabbed onto Tai's arm. His teammates tried to get us to pass the boys but they started to talk about the large orange dinosaur and how it was the worst one of them all."

Sora crossed her arms, her eyes falling to the ground for a moment. "Tai couldn't stand by anymore with them bagging Greymon. So he went over to them and asked them to stop bagging something that they didn't understand. That only a small handful of Digimon wanted to take over Earth and that some Digimon helped save everyone's lives." Sora started to grip her arms as her shoulders started to shake. "Then one of the guys started calling Tai a good for nothing traitor since he was siding with "Those good for nothing monsters". That he was as bad as they were."

Sora let out a sigh as her arms fell to her sides. A look of shame crossed her face. "I kinda lost my temper when he called Tai a terrorist and punched the guy square on in the nose. One of his friends called me a bitch then backhanded me. The next thing I knew, Tai was in front of me and kicked the guy over the head. Takato got a teacher while Judai and John stood between the two groups, glaring at the boys. When Takato came back with Mr Nishijima, we all got in trouble."

Sora then let out a little chuckle. "As it turned out, I broke the guy's nose and the other guy got a concussion and had to go home. After Tai realized what he did, guilt hit him like a truck, saying he shouldn't have lost his temper. I could have sworn I heard him mention SkullGreymon when he was muttering to himself." Sora felt a tear run down her face as she recounted how hurt Tai looked after the whole fight. "The news spread the entire school and in class, everyone was talking about it. When we entered the room, everyone was staring at us and it was obvious that Tai was very uncomfortable. We sat down and everyone was muttering about Tai and how someone on the soccer team shouldn't be kicking people over the head due to their strong legs. Some others said that Tai was dangerous to be around when he was angry or annoyed. It wasn't long before Tai ran out of class. I wanted to run after him but the teacher told me to stop and tried their best to calm down the other soccer players in the classroom as they told the class to shut up. When I saw him the next day he was very quiet and shut off. I asked if he was ok but he didn't tell me what was going on."

The younger Digidestined looked at Sora with shock. T.K. wrapped his arms around the older girl while Davis hung his head in shame.

"Man, I didn't even know that people acted like that towards you older guys. I mean I knew that not everyone is a Digimon fan but calling Tai a terrorist is a bit extreme," Davis said as he rubbed that back of his neck.

Sora gave him a small smile."It's alright. You didn't know. All of us got into trouble but the boys seemed to be in even more trouble with Mr Nishijima than Tai and I were. We all got detention and luckily Tai and I weren't suspended. The principal gave us a warning but understood why we acted the way we did since he remembered us running around Odaiba back during Myotismon's first invasion." Sora said with a grateful tone.

Yolei looked to the ground looking a little distressed."How could anyone call someone a terrorist when they did nothing wrong?" she asked.

"So Tai's getting that crap again?" everyone jumped to see Izzy walk up to them.

Behind him was Matt. He looked at Sora and gave a small smile but she looked to the ground, avoiding his eyes.

"What do you mean 'he's getting that _again_ '?" Ken asked looking at Izzy who had a rather annoyed look on his face.

"Tai copped a lot of that stuff after that summer when we went back to school," Izzy said, the anger clear in his voice. "Lots of kids lost their homes due to the fighting and people recognised Tai running around the place or riding Greymon around. So they started to blame him for the attack and called him a terrorist. Even some of his own teammates were doing it! Tai ended up leaving the school soccer team so the other kids didn't have to deal with the harassment as well. He joined a team outside school but he couldn't escape it all. It wasn't until the 7th grade that Tai made new friends after losing them all, outside of the Digidestined."

The younger group were speechless when Izzy finished up his story.

"I… Wow, that had to be difficult," Ken said after a moment of silence. He shook his head at the thought of people being so cruel to someone who was only doing their best to protect them.

"I don't understand why others would do that when Tai was also suffering from the attacks," Cody said.

"That's just awful," Yolei said, hugging her torso.

"Ya, we all received that kind of bullying for a while after school went back," Matt added, looking to the ground. "Tai copped the most of it due to him doing his best to "shield" us from it."

Izzy adjusted his shoulder bag and moved away from the group. "As much as I hate to cut this conversation off we really need to start this meeting."

"But what about the others?! Matt said that Kari needed help," Davis said.

Izzy gestured them to follow him as he walked behind the trees. The others followed and Sora covered her mouth.

Lying beneath a tree was Joe and Kari tending to an unconscious WarGreymon. He was covered in scratches and bandages which Joe had already wrapped around the major cuts on his body. Sora could see clothes covered in pixelated blood lying beside WarGreymon. Every now and again, WarGreymon would glitch a little.

Sora looked around the area, hoping not to see an injured Tai near a tree, But when she couldn't find him, she got more worried. She opened her mouth to talk but nothing would come out.

T.K. clenched his jaw, his shoulders started to shake. T.K. clenched his fist into a ball as he looked over to Matt and Izzy, anger and worry were clear in his eyes. "Where's Tai?"

Matt walked over to T.K. and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as he gave his brother a small, sad smile. T.K. stopped shaking a little, he placed his hand onto Matt's.

"Izzy, I think it would be best for you to explain what's going on," Matt said.

Izzy let out a small sigh.

"By the look of things, WarGreymon was attacked by something. It had to have had the abilities to manipulate darkness as WarGreymon was covered by a dark aura. No one knows where Tai is or if he's also been injured by the same creature. I could only get a little bit of data off Tai's Digivice and it showed that Tai and WarGreymon were on Server near the Koromon Village." Izzy said. He opened his shoulder bag and took out his computer. Those who weren't there when WarGreymon came out of the laptop were stunned when Izzy explained what was going on.

"No way! The gate's been closed for over a year now. There's no way Tai's in the Digital World." Davis said, his eyes never leaving the laptop. Izzy rolled his eyes and went back to what he was doing.

"WarGreymon is in the Real World so that must mean the gate had to have been opened," Ken stated while giving a glance at WarGreymon.

"Human World. Both worlds are as real as each other. There's no point in calling one "The Real World" since it makes the other seem less important," Kari said, never turning her head away from WarGreymon. "That's what Tai told me anyway, so we try our best not to call Earth that."

Ken blinked blankly. "I guess so, I never thought of it like that."

Yolei let out a frustrated sigh and flailed her arms up and down."Can we focus on what's important here and not semantics about names?!" Yolei yelled at Kari and Ken. They both looked to the ground with a sheepish smile and didn't say another word.

"Anyway, Tai couldn't have gone to the Digital World without a D3 in his possession," Yolei said while holding her red D3 in her hand. "Did Tai take one of ours or did someone open the gate for him?"

Cody, Davis, T.K., Ken and Kari all showed their D3s to the group so it was obvious that Tai didn't have one. Yolei let out a small sigh in defeat. She looked over to Kari. "Did you open a portal for Tai?" When Kari shook her head, Yolei looked at Izzy for help.

"I know that I didn't let Tai into the Digital World and it looks like never did the others so how could he have gotten in?" She asked.

Izzy shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not sure, Yolei. What I want to know is why didn't Gennai or one of our partners tell us the gate was open?"

"Maybe Gennai did tell someone. Did Tai ask any of you for help yesterday?" Matt asked the group. The others looked at him with wide eyes, immediately catching on to what Matt was getting at.

"Tai asked if I was free yesterday but I had to study for an upcoming test," Joe said with a guilty tone.

"I had tennis practice and had to go straight home afterwards so I told him I wasn't free." Sora stared at the ground.

"He was at our school yesterday. When he spotted me he asked if I was free at the moment. When I told him I had Basketball practice he kind of deflated but told me not to worry about it and ran off." T.K said, rubbing his arm and not looking at anyone.

"Yolei and I saw Tai enter the school, we thought that he was there to pick up Kari so we didn't go over to him and just left to do our afternoon activities." Cody bowed his head in shame. Yolei nodded her head in agreement as she hugged her torso. Looking to the side with guilt in her eyes.

"Ya, when I saw him at school I asked how he was. He said he was fine and asked if I was free at all. I told him I had soccer practice and that my coach wasn't as understanding as his was and would kill me if I missed a session. Tai gave me a small smile saying he remembered the coach and wished me luck before running off." Davis said as he rubbed the back of his head.

Both Kari and Ken had a hurt expression on their faces. Kari more so than Ken.

"He didn't tell me anything. I didn't get a call or a message on the D-Terminal. I guess since I don't live in Odiba he didn't know if I would be free or not." Ken said.

"He didn't tell me anything. After he said goodbye yesterday morning, he didn't talk to me at all. All I was doing was going to see friends since photography club wasn't one yesterday. I guess due to the fight at home Monday night, he didn't really talk to anyone at home," Kari said. She wiped away a tear that was coming down her cheek.

Matt walked over to Kari and gave her a hug. He settled down next to her and placed a protective arm around her. She smiled gratefully at the older boy.

"Did you and Tai have a fight?" Joe asked with a bit of a surprised tone. Everyone was now staring at her with slightly shocked expressions on their faces.

Kari blushed, shook her head and waved her hands in front of herself. "No no! Nothing is wrong. It was just a small thing."

The rest of the group raised an eyebrow at Kari but decided to leave it at that. Davis looked down at the ground and let got a small sigh.

"Man, Tai has had one tough week," Davis said. Everyone nodded in agreement. Kari looked down at the ground and hugged her arms, staying silent.

Izzy let out a sigh and stood in front of the group. He turned around his computer to show the others what was on the screen. "And I think it just got worse."

Everyone that wasn't there when WarGreymon came out of the computer let out, either a gasp of shock or said what. On the screen was the gate, showing that it was indeed open. The screen where the Digidestined normally see where the gate goes to was completely black.

"What happened? Is Tai ok?" Cody asked, his tone was full of worry. Izzy let out a defeated sigh and sat down on the ground. The others that were standing followed suit.

"I don't know. Like I said I found a trace of Tai's Digivice at the Koromon Village but I'm not sure where he is now, so it'll be best to ask them if they have seen Tai at all." Izzy finished the explanation and started to work on the scans that he took of WarGreymon while the others let the information sink in.

"Why can't you follow Tai's Digivice Signal?"

Izzy looked over to Yolei who was starting at her D3 as if it was going to tell her something. She looked over to WarGreymon and held her Digivice close to her chest. Yolei took a deep breath and then looked over at Izzy with a determined look on her face.

"The Digivice has a tracking beacon attached to it so that another Digivice could pick up the location of where that Digidestined is," Yolei said. "So we should be able to track down where Tai is."

T.K. looked over his own D3 as the thought back to his first adventure and how Tai found him after being gone for 6 months. Tai told him about how he used the Digivice to find his own and Tokomon. He did the same thing to find Matt and Joe.

"I've tried that. I can't seem to get a signal as to where Tai's Digivice is, let alone the general area. I'm sorry, Yolei," Izzy said.

"What do you mean by that? The Digivice always signals the tracking beacon and the only way for it to be off is if Tai's de…" Yolei trailed off and looked to the ground, not know how to finish her sentence. The rest of the group seemed to have mixed reactions to what Yolei had stated. Most of the group didn't know what to think, some were angry, some annoyed and others confused. Could Tai be...

"He's not dead." Matt and Kari said at the same time.

The group looked over to Kari and Matt who smiled at each other.

"Tai's not dead," Matt said. He had his Digivice in his hand and up against his chest. He gave a small sad smile to the group. "He's hurt… and in a fair bit of pain but he's breathing so that's the main thing."

"WarGreymon is also alive so that should be enough evidence for us to know," Kari added. The second generation of Digidestined looked confused while the others just facepalmed.

"Of course! WarGreymon can't exist without Tai being alive! If we die, our partners die." Izzy let out a relieved laugh and went back to typing on his computer.

"What's going on? How is it even possible for a Digimon to die if their partner does?" Ken had a curious look in his eye. He seemed more relaxed since the others were so confident that Tai was still breathing.

"Back in our first adventure, we found out that our digimon were not like other digimon around us. They were made specifically for us and used our life force and energy to exist. We have a special connection to them and if we die, so do they since they can't live without us." Joe explained. He had moved from working on WarGreymon to dealing with small burns on Kari's hands that she got from removing the aura.

"Is that the same for our partners?" Davis asked with an amazed tone. He and his team, besides Kari and T.K., had no idea that the older kids had such a strong bond with their partners.

"We don't know. Maybe once this is all done then we can ask Gennai about it." Izzy said, not once looking up from his computer. "As for tracking the Digivice, either it's broken or someone is masking the signal. I hope it's the latter than the former because that way I can look for something of strong power that could potentially cover a Digivice signal."

Everyone sat in silence for a while, going over what had been said. The birds continued to sing their song throughout the park as it mixed with the sound of typing. The breeze rushed against the faces of the Digidestined. It was a calming for the group, after all the information that they went through, a break was nice.

"Wait. Matt, how did you know that Tai's hurt?" Cody asked looking over to the elder blond. Matt looked up from wiping WarGreymon's forehead and blinked blankly at Cody."You said that Tai was in quite a bit of pain. How did you know that?"

Matt felt the heat run to his cheeks and let out a small laugh.

"Um...it's hard to explain. I guess I discovered it after that summer," Matt said. "When I close my eyes, hold my Digivice to my chest and concentrate on Tai, I can feel what he's feeling, feel his heartbeat and see if he's in pain. I don't know why I can do this but Tai can also do it with me. We tend not to do it due to it kind invading our privacy but in an emergency like this it's helpful." Matt pulled out his Digivice and looked at it with a small smile. "I guess it has something to do with Omnimon."

"Wait, what? I've never had that happen with Cody and I," T.K. said in shock. He looked over to the other younger Digidestined and they all looked as confused as he did. The rest of the Digidestined looked at Matt with wide eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me? This is an amazing discovery and it would have been helpful to known sooner!" Izzy said. "I never thought that this could be possible, I wonder how this could happen? Ken, Davis, Cody, T.K., Yolei, Kari! Do what Matt said and see if anything happens with you guys! I want to see if this does have anything to do with DNA Digivolution!". He was typing relatively fast on his computer and had a huge grin on his face.

The younger kids looked at each other and followed what Matt said that he does to feel what Tai is feeling. After a few minutes Kari, Yolei, Cody and T.K. opened their eyes and let down their D3's in frustration. Yolei and T.K. muttered something while Kari looked over to Matt for answers. The older boy just shrugged his shoulders and looked over to Ken and Davis.

Both boys had a concentrated look on their face, breathing in sync.

"I can feel Ken's/Davis's heartbeat," They said at the same time. Matt let out a smile while Izzy gave a thoughtful look, a hand on his chin as he looked at his results on the laptop.

"Why did they get the same results as Matt and the others didn't? They were also in sync so what is the connection?" Izzy muttered to himself, loud enough for the others to hear but not too loud.

"Maybe it has to do with the bond that the pair has?" Sora suggested. Kari looked over to Sora and gave a thoughtful look, placing a finger on her chin.

"Maybe. Yolei and I are DNA partners but we don't really have much in common other than our desire to help others. T.K. and Cody have the similar sense of justice but other than that they are also very different. Now, Davis and Ken are best friends that understand each other even when others can't. Tai and Matt have a similar relationship, even when they fight it's always resolved in their own way and they always have an understanding that others don't have."

"Well, this will new ability will come in handy until Tai's back with us." Sora smiled at Matt but quickly looked away when he smiled back.

"I can't do it too much, it tires me out," Matt said. Ken and Davis had put way their D3s and looked a bit exhausted. Izzy took down more notes. He looked over to WarGreymon and saw him starting to move.

"Looks like WarGreymon might wake up soon," Izzy stated. The others looked over to him and let out a sigh of relief.

"That's great news." Kari hugged Matt with small tears in her eyes. "I hope he can tell us that Tai's ok."

"I guess we'll just have to wait for WarGreymon to wake up," Joe said.

Everyone looked at the dragon man and waited for him to stir.

* * *

WarGreymon walked around a dark, bitterly cold area with no light in sight. He rubbed his arms to do his best to keep them warm as his breath created fog against the crisp air. He winced in pain with every step that he took on the slippery ground. The frost burned the soles of his feet. His thoughts and memories were scrambled.

' _What happened? Why am I here? Why am I in pain? Where's Tai?'_ WarGreymon thought to himself. Dark purple fog brushed up against his leg. He was filled with dread and despair, almost dropping to his knees from the overwhelming feelings. Hopelessness and failure clouded his mind as dark blue mist surrounded him. He knew that he had failed someone. That, someone, was hurt because of him. But who?

' _I need to find a way out of here, this place makes me uneasy. Where's Tai?'_

WarGreymon pushed forward. Whispers of failures and insults swirled around him. Each step was more of an effort to take. The air was getting colder, swirling around him as it entered his armour and skin, making him pale. He felt like he was in the snow-covered areas of the Digital World when he was Koromon. As WarGreymon, the could shouldn't bother him with the fire within his body.

Slowly some of the whispers became louder and WarGreymon was able to make out.

' **Traitor'**

' **You just go around and hurt others'**

' **You can't protect anyone'**

WarGreymon started to shake. He tried to think back to what happened before he got here.

Sand. Storm. Temple. Attack. Red. Flash. Pain. Darkness.

Tears started to fall down the Dino-man's face at the thought of the red. Someone he cared about was hurt and it was his fault. He caused someone he loved pain. Did he hurt Tai? Why was there sand around them? What was the temple? He collapsed on the ground. The feeling of ice crawling up his legs didn't matter to him. He was useless and couldn't protect anyone. Why bother fighting?

' **You're not needed'**

' **Everyone's better off without you'**

' **You can't grow up. Everyone around you has moved on but you're still a little 11-year-old boy who wants to be the hero'**

' _What?'_ WarGreymon felt something warm spread through him. A pink aura covered his body, melting away the black ice that had increased WarGreymon's lower body. He felt the all the despair and failure wash away from his mind and body. The events what happened flowed back to him as the fog within his head disappeared.

Tai. Sword. Lilithmon. Tai being hit in the chest. Digivolving. Fighting Lilithmon. Almost leaving the Digital World. Dropping Tai. Being hit. Light.

"Tai!" WarGreymon jumped to his feet. The aura around him turning to one of a bright orange. He ran through the misty, dark area and looked for his best friend. The whispers around him started to get louder in the direction he was going. He didn't know why, but WarGreymon felt like he was going in the right direction when the whispers got louder.

' **Why would the others need you when they have Davis?'**

' **At least he won't hurt them if he loses his temper'**

' **You not only hurt your friends when you get mad, but you also turn your partner into a skeletal monstrosity'**

"Don't listen to them, Tai! Wherever you are! They're not true!" WarGreymon yelled into the void. He picked up his pace. He tried to fly but found that he couldn't. He gritted his teeth in determination as he continued to run forward.

' **You can't even protect your sister'**

' **You almost killed her when you were younger'**

' **She better off without you'**

' **Traitor!'**

" **Terrorist!'**

' **JUST DISAPPEAR!'**

WarGreymon came to a stop when he heard a small suppressed sob. He felt a small amount of heat to his right. He looked over to see a small orange glow. Walking over he saw Tai in the fetal position crying to himself. WarGreymon felt his heart break at the sight.

' _Is this the dark mist thing that Matt and Sora went through? Is this what Tai sees? Why doesn't he tell anyone? How long has he been suffering like this? How long has he been hiding this?'_

WarGreymon walked over to Tai and placed a hand on Tai's back. The boy froze and looked over to the Dino-man. WarGreymon's eyes widened to see that Tai's eyes were a warm orange instead of their usual chocolate brown.

" _WarGreymon? Why are you in my mind?"_ Tai's voice was quiet but it echoed around the room. WarGreymon blinked twice at Tai.

"Your mind? It's a little dark." WarGreymon chuckled. Tai looked down in shame. He sat up and hugged his legs close to his body.

" _I'm sorry. I guess having a light mind is just another thing I fail at."_

WarGreymon was shocked. Why would Tai think that he failed at things? WarGreymon looked down to see a dark, deep red fog pass over Tai's feet. The whispers came back.

' **The attacks are your fault'**

' **You should have killed Myotismon when you had the chance'**

' **But you where too much of a coward to do so'**

Tai curled up and placed his head down on his knees and started to shake. Tears started to fall again. The aura around him started to flicker and grow dim. Frost started to cover his T-shirt and jeans. The air became dense, making it hard to breathe. Tai's breathing speed up and became uneven. He couldn't stop shaking.

' **Because of that, people lost their homes, families, friends'**

' **Wizardmon died because you couldn't take the attack Myotismon sent to** _ **your**_ **sister'**

' **You should have just let Piedmon kill you'**

"DON'T LISTEN TO THEM TAI! THAT'S NOT TRUE AND YOU KNOW IT!" WarGreymon grabbed Tai's shoulders and turned him so they were looking eye to eye. Warm, green eyes looked into empty orange ones."You fought your best! You helped defeated Myotismon and Piedmon! Not to mention you took down Machinedramon, MetalSeadramon and Etemon! Hell, even Apocalymon! You did the best as you could. You were only 11-years-old for crying out loud!" WarGreymon wiped away the tears that were falling down his cheeks.

' **You're a burden to everyone around you'**

Tai tried to turn his head away but WarGreymon held it tight.

"You're not a burden! You've never been a burden! SkullGreymon wasn't just your fault. I was angry too. Not to mention that we had no way to know how the crests worked." WarGreymon gave Tai a small smile. "You learned a lesson that day and not only did you grow, but the others as well. I grew too. So don't blame yourself."

" _The others were scared of me though. They were scared of you too. I hurt them...I almost killed them."_ Tai let out a sob as he tied to get away from WarGreymon. " _Just leave me alone. I don't deserve you as a partner."_

WarGreymon let out a growl. He picked up Tai and placed him in his lap. Tai let out a small yelp before he gave WarGreymon an annoyed look.

"You believe in me right?" Wargreymon asked, giving Tai a stern look. Tai just gave a small nod. "Then believe me when I say that you're not a burden, not to me. I will always help you no matter what. I care for you Taichi. I wouldn't want anyone else for my partner, ok?"

Tai let out a small laugh. He started to cry again and hugged WarGreymon. Tai's aura started to glow a bright orange as it joined the one WarGreymon had. The frost on the boy's clothing melted away. The Dino-man hugged him back and rubbed his back.

" _Thanks WarGreymon. I'm glad I have you as a friend."_

"Always."

A clank of metal pulled the two out of their thoughts as they looked in the direction that it came from. Tai stood up and walked towards the sound. WarGreymon felt dread fill him once again. He stood up and reached out to Tai.

"Tai! Be care..."

A shackle flew out of the darkness and clasped itself onto Tai's wrist. The chain connected to it wrapped itself around Tai's arm.

" _What the?"_ Another shackle attached itself to Tai's other wrist and started to pull Tai away from WarGreymon, into the darkness. Tai started to panic and fought against the chains and shackles. WarGreymon ran over to him. He swung his gauntlet down to the chains but they didn't break, leaving the two in shock.

" _W-what's happening? WarGreymon!"_

WarGreymon grabbed on to Tai and did his best to pull him away from the chains. In response to his actions, two more shackles came out of the dark mist and clasped around Tai's ankles. A chain going through the rings of the shackles, connecting his ankles together. WarGreymon felt fear fill his core. He couldn't break the chains. What was happening?

More chains appeared and wrapped themselves around Tai's torso. The air became freezing. Ice could be heard forming around them. Frost reappeared on both of the bearers of courage. Tai started to shake. The chains were ice-cold as frost spread along them to his skin.

WarGreymon felt Tai slipping from his grip. Panicked, he tried to hold onto Tai but he fell out of his arms. Tai fought against the chains but they pulled him towards the darkness. Tai reached out a hand to WarGreymon, fear and panic filled his eyes.

" _WarGreymon! Help Me! Please!"_

WarGreymon ran after Tai trying to reach him but he wasn't fast enough. Tai started to be swallowed by the darkness.

"Tai!"

Tai's face disappeared. Only his outreached hand could be seen. WarGreymon almost reached it, just missing as the darkness swallowed Tai whole.

" _WARGREYMON!"_

"TAI!"

" _HELP ME! WARGR_ EYMON!"

Tai's voice raised in pitch and faded away.

Tears filled WarGreymon's eyes as his best friend disappeared into the darkness. His aura and warmth, nowhere to see seen or felt in the bitter cold area. WarGreymon clenched his eyes shut as he ran after Tai.

"TAICHI!"

"WARGREYMON!"

* * *

"WARGREYMON!" Kari yelled out in a panic. WarGreymon had started to toss and turn in his sleep and started to call out something, but they couldn't understand what it was.

"TAICHI!" WarGreymon bolted awake into a sitting up position, sweat and tears fell down his body. He grunted in pain, clenching his chest. Joe and Matt grabbed his shoulders gently and placed him back against the tree.

"Easy there, you're hurt so you need to rest," Joe said in a calm voice. WarGreymon rested against the tree shaking and breathing heavily. Kari grabbed a cloth and wet it before placing it on WarGreymon's head.

"It's alright buddy. You're safe. You're with us now." Matt said, trying his best to calm the terrified mega.

WarGreymon's breath started to become even and the shaking stopped. He opened his eyes to see all of the Digidestined. He let out a huge sigh of relief as a smile crossed his face...well...he doesn't have a mouth...But, he was smiling.

"Thank the Sovereigns! We made it back to Earth in time!" He looked over to Joe and caught sight of the bandages that were on his body. He gave the medic a grateful look.

"Thanks for healing me, Joe."

"Anytime WarGreymon," Joe replied with a small smile. WarGreymon looked over the entire group with a bit of a confused look.

"Why weren't you guys in the Digital World with Tai? He told me you were busy but surely you could have dropped what you were doing to help right?" WarGreymon asked the group. Everyone either looked down at the ground, let out a nervous chuckle or looked annoyed.

"Tai didn't tell us the Digital World called. He just asked if we were busy," Izzy said. Matt let out a huff of annoyance. WarGreymon looked over the group then thought back to his 'dream'.

"Huh, I guess Tai's really thinks he's bugging you guys if he didn't tell you," WarGreymon muttered to himself. Matt, Kari and Joe heard him though. Matt looked over to WarGreymon in surprise and was going to ask about what he said but was cut off by WarGreymon.

"Is Tai ok? I hope he wasn't hurt too much, was he?"

Everyone froze. WarGreymon watched as they looked at each other nervously. Matt cleared his throat, catching the attention of WarGreymon.

"Tai wasn't with you when you came through the portal," Matt said.

WarGreymon looked at Matt in shock. He let what Matt said sink in for a minute. WarGreymon started to shake again as panic ran through his code. He tried to jump up but Kari, Matt and Joe did their best to hold down their injured friend.

"You can't get up yet! You're still too injured to move," Joe said to his panicked friend.

"She has him! Lilithmon has him!"

Davis, T.K. and Ken ran over to help them push WarGreymon back down. They struggled but the combined strength managed to keep the mega down.

"Who's Lilithmon? What happened?" Davis asked. WarGreymon just shook his head.

"There's no time! I have to get to Tai!"

"WarGreymon, if you tell us what happened, all of us can go save him. If we don't know what happened we can't save Tai in a safe and effective manner." Ken said, trying his best to calm down their friend. WarGreymon calmed down and stopped trying to get up. He stared at his feet. The Digidestined that tried to keep him down collapsed on the ground next to him. Sora looked over to WarGreymon and gave a soft smile.

"WarGreymon, what happened? Why were you injured?" Sora asked.

WarGreymon let out a small sigh."Tai and I left the Koromon village this morning to search for digimon that have been disappearing for the last few months. While we were at the Koromon Village, the elder told Tai about a powerful weapon that had re-appeared after being missing for centuries and asked Tai to find it and keep it from evil's hands.

"Well, for some reason, the weapon was calling out to Tai. It was a strong call and Tai couldn't ignore it. Similar to how the crests called out to us. We found the weapon in an old temple. You would have loved it, Izzy. Anyway, when Tai touched it, it let out a blast and changed shape. Then a demon lady digimon called Lilithmon came out from the opposite side of the room and started to talk with Tai. I didn't have a good feeling about her.. Then she decided that Tai was hers and attacked us. She hit Tai and he fell unconscious. I went to go protect him and I ended up Digivolving to WarGreymon. I tried to flee with Tai but Lilithmon attacked again. I spotted a TV… we were so close… then there was only black."

A silence came over the group once more. The light air around them became dense as the situation weighed down the Digidestined.

"Why weren't we told about this when the disappearances started?" Kari asked in a hushed tone.

"I want to know why didn't Tai tell us about something this important?" Matt said through his teeth, annoyance clear in his voice.

"I...Tai has had some trouble talking lately...he….just never knows what to say now." WarGreymon said. He looked up at the trees around them. Matt felt his annoyance melt away. He thought back to what Tai was feeling and how he was hurt.

Cody looked at WarGreymon with a displeased look on his face. "Well Tai should have told us. It wasn't very responsible for him to leave us out of this. No wonder he's in this situation."

WarGreymon let out a growl. He looked at Cody with cold eyes. "Says the _kid_ that could even be _bothered_ to go say _hello_ to his _friend_ when he was at the school."

T.K. got up and stood between the two. "Come on, there's no need to fight." T.k. said with a nervous laugh. WarGreymon let out another growl before turning to Izzy.

"How long was I out?"

"I...um...t-two hours." Izzy stuttered out. WarGreymon let out a frustrated sigh.

"We have wasted enough time. We need to go. Now!" WarGreymon said. The others nodded in agreement and started to prepare to go.

Kari and Ken walked over to Izzy laptop and started to type in the coordinates of the Koromon Village. The others talked about different possibilities of what could have happened to Tai and Izzy was watching Kari and Ken work on his laptop.

Joe walked over to Izzy and gave the computer expert a look. Izzy looked over to his friend and let out a sigh.

"I really want to go and see what happened to Tai as well as check out this temple but I can't leave my laptop here by itself," Izzy said in a worried tone. Joe gave Izzy a small smile.

"How about I stay behind and look after the laptop. That way I can also be ready if someone is injured during the mission." Joe suggested. Izzy gave a thankful smile calling him 'good old reliable Joe' before walking over to meet the others.

Kari looked over everyone who gave her a nod. She gave them a grateful smile before turning to the computer. She readied her D3 and pointed it at the screen.

"Digiport Open!"

* * *

"Hmm? The Child of Courage and his Agumon were here two days ago. I do wish they stayed for longer though." The Elder Koromon said. The group blinked twice at the elder.

"EHHHH?!" The Digidestined and WarGreymon asked at the same time.

The group had just entered Koromon Village when they were greeted by Veemon, Wormmon, Hawkmon, Armadillomon, Patamon and Gatomon. Their respective partners ran over to them and had a touching reunion. They walked around the village, admiring the festivities that were going on before they managed to find the elder Koromon to ask him if he had seen or heard from Tai at all. The answer was...not what they wanted to hear.

"How could it have been two days ago? I was only gone for two hours!" WarGreymon brushed his hands through his hair, eyes widened in panic.

"Ah, I guess the rumours are true. The Digimon of Courage can digivolve to a mega form." The Elder said.

"By the sound of it, it seems like time in the Digital World has once again sped up. Though this time it's only a day to an hour then a year to 20 minutes." Izzy noted.

"That means that crazy digimon has had Tai for _two days!_ Who knows where they are now? Damn it!" WarGreymon got up from where he was sitting and crawled out from the Elder's home. He needed air and some time to think.

"WarGreymon! Wait!" Kari called out, running after the bigger Digimon. Gatomon ran after her.

The rest of the group thanked the Elder for his time before they left to go after WarGreymon and Kari. They saw Kari and Gatomon but no WarGreymon. They searched around the village for the dino-man but couldn't find him anywhere. They branched out to the surrounding areas of the village to see if he had left for some peace and quiet. Davis and Kari walked by the waterfall near the village when they heard footsteps. Veemon and Gatomon motioned for their partners to stay where they were before they went behind the waterfall. After a while, Veemon came back and told them that they found WarGreymon. Davis messaged the others to let them know before he and Kari followed Veemon to WarGreymon.

When they got to him they had found that he had stopped pacing and looked to be meditating. The smell of moss and fresh water combined with the sound of the rushing waterfall that echoed off the wall of the small cavern created a calming atmosphere for the small group to take the moment to breathe.

The others finally made their way towards the small group and the more experienced Digidestined looked around with a sense of nostalgia.

"Is this...?" T.K. started to ask.

"This is where Tai and I found the Crest of Courage," WarGreymon cut him off before he could finish his question. "Tai spent a fair bit of time here last night to think." His tone was soft. He stood up and walked over to one of the walls where the Koromon had re-carved the Crest of Courage into the walls. Underneath were two words followed by a sentence, all in DigiCode. For some reason, WarGreymon knew that Tai's and his own names were carved there.

"So this is where Tai realized that he was the Child of Courage?" Davis asked in awe. WarGreymon shook his head.

"No, we didn't discover that courage was our crest until Tai had to face his fears and got it to glow just before we defeated Etemon. I honestly couldn't' think of a better crest for him." The mega stood up and walked back towards the waterfall. The others followed him to make sure they didn't lose him again.

Once they were all outside, WarGreymon let out a sigh. He turned to face everyone and gave them a look of authority.

"We can't waste any more time. I think it'll be a good idea if we to split up into groups. We can cover more ground that way. Since only the younger Digidestined have their partners, it would be best for the older ones to stay with them." WarGreymon looked over everyone to see if anyone wanted to do something different.

"I think if Cody and Yolei could check out the temple that WarGreymon and Tai we might be able to find some clues on why the sword called out to Tai," Kari ordered the group. "Ken and T.K. could check out the desert and any surrounding villages to see if Tai has shown up in any of them. Davis and Matt can check the forest near the temple and see if there are any clues as to what happened to Tai. As for WarGreymon, Izzy, Sora and myself, we'll be going to any villages within the forest to see if Tai could have shown up in any of them. Does that sound ok with everyone?"

Everyone stared at her with a slightly shocked expression. Kari blushed from the attention. Izzy came up to her and patted her on the back, giving her a confident smile.

"I don't think I could have come up with a better plan myself. That's great work, Kari! Tai would be proud," Izzy others nodded in agreement, each of them giving Kari a smile or grin of their own.

The gang found their assigned partners and started to head off. They wished each other good luck before departing. Izzy told them all to keep in contact before they left. WarGreymon gave directions to Yolei, Cody, Ken and T.K. so they knew where they were going. Sora mentioned that everyone should head back home when it gets dark, as they still had school the next day. The suggestion was met with groans but everyone agreed. Davis and Matt decided to travel with Kari's group so WarGreymon could take them to where he found the TV.

As they travelled over the sandy terrain of the hot desert, life was still active all around them. A group of Tyranomons were by an oasis, cooling down from their travels. A flock of Birdramon sored over them, obviously enjoying the heat the sun provided. When they reached the dense greenery of the forest, bug digimon buzzed around them. A group of Floramon, Mushroomon and Palmon played around the flora of the forest. The scene was peaceful and the Digidestined smiled at the life all around them. WarGreymon was surprised to see so much activity considering when he was last here, it was a ghost town.

After WarGreymon showed Davis and Matt the area that he found the TV in the two parted ways with the rest of the group to do their part of the search. WarGreymon, Kari, Sora, Izzy and Gatomon walked in silence as they searched their surroundings for anything Tai could use as a hiding place. Kari held her arms as the breeze brushes along them. While the air wasn't cold, it still gave her goosebumps. She felt, deep down in her heart that something wasn't right

Gatomon froze on Kari's shoulder. She pricked up her ears and started to sniff the air. Kari felt her partner stiffen. She looked over to the cat digimon with concern.

"Is everything ok, Gatomon?" Kari asked.

Gatomon furrowed her forehead in concentration and confusion. The rest of the group had stopped looking at the trees, seeing if any of them could be hiding trees and looked over to the two bearers of Light.

"I don't know, I thought I smelt something," Gatomon said. She continued to search the area for anything that could be off. The others looked at each other and nodded. They then started to look around the area for anything unusual. WarGreymon also used his sense of smell and hearing to his advantage. Gatomon's look of concentration turned to one of slight concern.

"I can smell something burning." Kari looked at her partner with some hope.

"Really? That means it could be a campfire." She asked in a slightly excited tone. Gatomon shook her head.

"No, it's not a campfire. It smells off."

"I can hear something burning nearby...and…" WarGreymon stopped mid-sentence. His eyes widened and started to run through the trees just ahead of him.

Screams rose out of the silence. High, painful screams.

Gatomon jumped off Kari's shoulder and ran after WarGreymon. Kari, Sora and Izzy looked at each other before they ran after the two digimon. They came into a clearing within the green forest. The sight of what WarGreymon and Gatomon heard and smelt made Kari's heart fall to the pits of her stomach.

Before them was a small village that was burnt to the ground. The small cottages where black as charcoal and half collapsed in on themselves as small orange and yellow flames danced along the pieces of wood that could still burn. The ground was covered in a grey blanket of ash. Some of the taller buildings were still in a burning blaze. The flames swirled around the structure as it weakens under the flames blaze. Thick smoke filled the air, blacking out the shining sun and oranging sky, making it hard to breathe.

WarGreymon and Gatomon were running through the village helping the small digimon that were trapped inside the buildings. Kari, Izzy and Sora ran down into the burning village and grabbed buckets and started to fill them in a nearby lake to start to put out the fires. Some of the resident digimon that were hiding amongst the trees came out and helped the Digidestined put out their village.

Soon, the last of the blazing fire was out. From a distance, the small village could be mistaken as being covered in snow from all of the ash that was on the ground. The group of Digidestined decided to split up and help the small town. WarGreymon looked for survivors, Sora attended to the injured, Izzy gathered information on what happened and Kari and Gatomon patrolled the surrounding forest.

As WarGreymon cleared out the fallen buildings and structures, he noticed slash marks along some pieces of wood. He called over to Sora to check if any of the digimon had been cut. Izzy watched the digimon come out and hug the ones that had been trapped or injured, grateful that everyone was still alive. He found a small group of digimon off to the side and decided to question them on what happened.

He walked over to the digimon and coughed to notify them of his presence. They looked over to him slightly afraid. Izzy gave a soft smile and got onto his knees to show that he wasn't a threat and wouldn't hurt them. A Mikemon walked over to Izzy and gave a small smile back.

"Hi. I'm Izzy, one of the Digidestined and I wanted to know what happened here so we can help you guys recover and catch the culprit." Izzy said in a calm voice. Mikemon and his friends let out a sigh of relief. They came closer to Izzy with a more relaxed posture.

"I'm Mikemon, one of the lookouts for our little village. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what happened." Mikemon said.

The BlackAgumon with him looked worried as she looked around in the forest."Some kind of Digimon came and attacked our village. They had a sword that could slice through anything. They even destroyed the metal statue we made of Lord Baihumon," she said in a shy voice, as she hid behind Mikemon.

The BlackGatomon leaned against some rubble from a building that wasn't hot from the fire and gave Izzy an annoyed look."Well, this "Digimon" was strong. It managed to take down all of the guards with the back of his blade. What I want to know is why in the name of the Sovereign you Digidestined always arrive after the problem is starting to reach its peak?" BlackGatomon growled out. BlackAgumon tried to calm down her angry friend but he shook her off.

"Digimon have been vanishing for 3 months now! And this time round the peace only lasted a year!" He shouted at Izzy. The boy let out a sigh and grabbed his Digivice that was around his belt.

"We were only notified about this problem today," Izzy explained. "Please keep in mind that we live in another world. We do the best we can when we can but we can't dictate when the gates between the worlds are open or closed."

Mikemon knocked BlackGatomon over the head with his paw and gave Izzy an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry about BlackGatomon. He's just upset at the fact that he got the snot beaten out of him by an unknown Digimon." Mikemon went over and patted Izzy on the arm."I'm grateful for the Digidestined's help with our world. From what I've heard, you guys didn't really have a choice."

Izzy just gave a smile to the group of three. The way that the BlackGatomon and Mikemon were acting reminded him of a young Tai and Matt.

Sora came running over to the small group with a confused look on her face. She kneeled down beside Izzy and looked over the digimon. After a while, her confusion grew.

"Besides small burns from the fire, no one is hurt," she said in a puzzled tone. Placing her hand onto her shin as the started to think. Izzy looked at her with a furrowed brow.

"Are you sure? The lookouts were telling me that the digimon had a sword."

"That's just it!"

Sora and Izzy looked over to the Black Agumon. She blushed at the attention, feeling uncomfortable. After taking a deep breath she looked over to the two humans with a determined look.

"Despite attacking our village, this digimon didn't hurt anyone!" BlackAgumon said. "When they attacked, they always used the back of their blade so we weren't cut... It was weird." Mikemon nodded in agreement while BlackGatomon just grunted.

"If that thing even was a Digimon," BlackGatomon muttered, but it was loud enough for Sora and Izzy to hear him. Izzy gave the cat digimon another puzzled look.

"What do you mean?" He asked. The cat digimon just let out a huff and looked Izzy straight into his eyes.

"What I'm saying is that the thing that attacked us looked a lot like a human to me."

Kari and Gatomon walked around the forest outside of the village to see if the culprit behind the horrible act was still around. The smoke from the village made the air of the surrounding area dense, making it hard to breathe.

Kari looked around the forest. She waited for the sound of leaves rustling but there was only silence.

' _Why would someone attack this small village like this? What do they get out of this? Did they have something to do with what happened to Tai?'_ Kari's thoughts ran wild in her head. Why was all of this happening now? And why wouldn't Tai tell them about what was going on? Why is he being so distant?

A snap of a tree branch echoed through the silent forest. Gatomon and Kari looked around for a potential threat. The forest fell silent again, all life that was there before was now gone without a trace.

The rustling of a bush caught the attention of the two. A figure stepped out of the foliage of the forest and stood in front of Kari and Gatomon. Kari released the breath she was holding and smiled at the figure with teary eyes.

"TAI! YOU'RE OK!" she yelled out. She went to run to give her missing brother a hug but Gatomon stopped her. Kari gave Gatomon an irritated look.

"Gatomon! Tai's right there! Why are you…" Kari began to ask but Gatomon cut her off with a whip of her tail.

"Something's not right," Gatomon said.

Kari blinked twice before looking over to Tai.

Tai was still in his school uniform but it had seen better days. His jacket, vest and tie were missing while his shirt and pants were torn and ripped in many different places. His shoes were caked in mud while the rest of him had stains of dirt and blood. Bandages loosely covered injuries that he must have received during the time he was unconscious. The state of his uniform along with Tai's exhausted look made the joyful tears from Kari's eyes turn to ones of worry.

"Tai? What happened? Are you hurt?" Kari asked, her voice weak.

Tai didn't answer. He just stood there in silence. The atmosphere around the group of three started to get heavy. Kari swallowed a lump in her throat.

"Tai? Why won't you answer me?" Kari pleaded. Gatomon was staring at Tai's right hand. She felt the hairs of her back stand up as she realized what it was.

" Is that the same weapon that you were meant to find?" Gatomon asked in a quiet voice.

Again, Tai did not answer.

The temperature around them started to heat up ever so slightly.

Gatomon started to push Kari back, much to the girl's confusion.

"T-Tai? Why won't you a-answer us?" Gatomon stuttered out. Confusion flowed over the cat digimon as to why she felt afraid. Tai would never hurt Kari. Ever. But...

Tai lifted his head and looked at the pair, his earthy brown eyes locked on to Gatomon.

* * *

"AAHHHHH!"

WarGreymon dropped the piece of would he was holding as fear flowed through his code. Taking off he flew over to the source of the sound. Sora and Izzy ran from their spots in the village to follow WarGreymon so they could get to Kari.

"Kari?!" WarGreymon called out as he landed in the forest. His head spun around as he looked all over the area to see if he could see the younger Kamiya sibling. The last thing he wanted was for Kari to get hurt. WarGreymon would never forgive himself if she was hurt while Tai was missing.

Sora and Izzy ran up behind WarGreymon and tried to catch their breaths. Izzy looked around the area with a concerned look. Sora held her digivice and tried to find Kari's location but her hands wouldn't stop shaking.

"Where is she?" Izzy asked. WarGreymon didn't answer as he continued to search the area.

A flash of pink light caught the attention of the small group. They didn't even think twice before they ran over to the flash of light. When they got to a clearing, the sight they saw made their blood run cold.

Tai was attacking Angewomon with a chokutō sword that had the Crest of Courage on it, while Angewomon is blocking Tai's attacks with Kari shacking behind her. WarGreymon flys in to get Kari out of there. Tai spots WarGreymon and knocks Angewomon back into him with causes the two Digimon to fall over on each other. Tai runs over to the pair and strikes with his sword. WarGreymon raises his gauntlet and blocks the attack.

Sora takes the time to pull Kari away from the battle and get her to a safer location. Izzy looks over Kari while Sora tries her best to calm the frantic girl down.

"What happened?" Izzy asked with an urgent tone. Kari shakes in Sora's arms as tears flow down her face.

"I don't know...Tai won't talk to me. He just appeared and was silent the entire time. Then, out of nowhere, he attacked Gatomon." Kari choked out. She sobbed into Sora's chest. All the older girl could do was hug Kari and rub her back. Izzy motioned for Sora to stay out of sight while he checked on WarGreymon, Angewomon and Tai.

Angewomon flew over the top of WarGreymon and Tai and tried to hold Tai down. Tai released his attack on WarGreymon and slid under the mon's legs. He then turned his body and threw the sword at Angewomon. The sword impaled her pink sash and pinned her to the ground. Angewomon went to pull the sword from her sash but was shocked to find that she couldn't lift it.

Tai walked over to Angewomon and removed the sword from her ribbon without any trouble. He went to strike the fallen angel but before he could bring the sword down, a ball of fire blocked him from attacking. Tai jumped back and looked over to see Flamedramon standing there in shock next to Davis and Matt.

"What the hell? Why are you attacking Angewomon?" Davis asked Tai with a look of disbelief. Tai didn't answer them, only giving a blank stare. Matt walked slowly forward towards Tai. His hands in front of him.

"Tai? It's ok. It's us, your friends," Matt said. "We're not here to hurt you, we're here to help you. You've been missing for an entire day and we came looking for you. I know it's probably been three days for you but we do want to help. Just put down the sword." He gave a friendly smile. He knew something wasn't right and wanted to show Tai that everything was ok.

Tai didn't say anything. He just stared at Matt with unblinking eyes. He lowered his head and took a step back. Matt let out a small sigh of relief. Than Tai darted forward with his sword in position to impale Matt. The bearer of Friendship eyes widened in shock. He felt an overflow of panic and fear. His limbs locked into place. He closed his eyes and covered his face with his arms.

"Brave Shield!"

WarGreymon was in front of Matt, his shield blocking Tai's attack. Tears streamed down his helmet.

"Tai, why are you attacking us? What did Lilithmon do to you?" WarGreymon pleaded.

Tai was still silent. No emotion was present on his face.

Flamedramon grabbed Matt and tried to flee but Tai, once again, moved away from WarGreymon and headed towards Matt. Flamedramon dropped Matt to the ground and blocked Tai's attack.

Izzy, Sora and Kari all ran out from their hiding spot with panicked looks on their faces. Kari was still crying and tried to get to Tai. Angewomon ran over and picked up Kari, holding her close to her chest for protection. Tai looked over to see Sora and Izzy calling out to him. Tai made eye contact with Izzy, his face was still blank of any emotion. He broke the attack with Flamedramon and ran over to Sora and Izzy.

WarGreymon flew over to the two before Tai could reach them. He grabbed Sora and went to grab Izzy but Tai threw the sword and struck WarGreymon's leg. The dino-man digimon yelped in pain and crashed into the ground, missing Izzy.

Tai held out his hand and the sword flew from WarGreymon's leg to his outstretched hand. He walked over to Izzy and for the first time, Izzy got a good look of Tai's eyes. They were cold and empty, void of any emotion and the worst part was that they looked straight through him. Tai raised his sword and swung it down.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

Everyone was frozen with shock. Izzy's right arm fell to the ground. Izzy clutched his right shoulder. He fell to his knees as pain overloaded his system. The smell of burning flesh filled the clearance that served as a battleground over the last 20 minutes. Tai was standing above him, looking through him as if he wasn't there. The sword in his hand was a lit, orange and yellow flames danced along the blade.

Izzy looked over to Tai with a look of hurt and shock. Tai gave a half smirk, the first sign of emotion that showed on his face. Izzy realized that the emotion on his face didn't reach his eyes. His eyes looked through Izzy, they stared into nothing and that freaked Izzy out. Tai let out a small, off chuckle.

"You're hurt? I'm surprised you even got off your stupid ass computer to even realise I was missing," Tai said, his voice cold and full of anger which didn't match his usual happy-go-lucky nature. "After all, I'm not an electronic or made out of data so why would you care?"

Izzy was shocked at his comment. How could Tai believe that? He cared for him, he cared for everyone in the group. He wasn't on his computer all the time...Izzy froze. Memories of past encounters with Tai ran through his head. From Tai asking Izzy what's going on in the Digital World that fateful summer to yesterday when Tai asked for help. He was always...always…

Izzy passed out and fell to the ground. Tai's smirk fell, his face returning to one of no emotion. He walked over and picked up Izzy's arm. He turned his back on the shocked group and started to walk away. Davis clenched his fist and let out a growl.

"WHAT THE HELL TAI?! IZZY IS YOUR FRIEND! WHY DID YOU CUT OFF HIS ARM?!" Davis yelled at their retreating leader. Tai stopped and looked at Izzy blankly.

Sora gripped her shirt over her heart with her hand as tears fell down her face.

"You attacked the village too, didn't you?" she asked in a soft voice.

Matt looked over to Tai. Anger flowed through him along with regret. Matt opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. He was speechless.

"I suggest going back to your earth to get him some treatment. I might have cauterized the wound but he'll need surgery." Tai's voice was distant and detached. He turned his back again and walked off. "Don't bother trying to follow me. It'll be best if you stay on earth." Tai raised his sword and set the surrounding trees on fire, blocking the way to where he was going.

The group stayed silent after Tai disappeared behind the tree line. Angewomon was trying to sooth Kari and she sobbed her heart out. Sora messaged everyone to get back to earth ASAP while tears fell down her face. Davis punched a tree and tried to process what was going on. Flamedramon was putting out the fires. Matt stood still looked at his Digivice in confusion and WarGreymon stood in shock.

WarGreymon walked over to Izzy and picked up the unconscious boy. Matt mentioned that there was a TV nearby and they could take it back to earth. The group agreed and walked over there. No one said anything. They got to the TV and Davis prepared the portal. WarGreymon had started to shake. A blinding light covered the group.

When they landed everyone asked what happened. When they saw Izzy, shock took over the group. Joe was the first to act, taking Izzy from WarGreymon and started to do his best to patch up his arm. T.K. called the ambulance and tried his best to give a reason as to why Izzy was missing his arm. Davis explained what happened along with the help of Angewomon and Sora. Everyone was asking questions but everything was cut off when a sob reached their ears.

The group looked over to see WarGreymon sobbing under a tree, curled up in on himself. Matt walked over to the mega and placed a comforting hand on his arm.

"Hey, WarGreymon, we'll figure this out," Matt spoke gently, but he didn't have much emotion in his voice. WarGreymon didn't stop crying.

"I- _i_ ' _m_ s _o_ r _r_ y, _I_ -i- _i_ 'm _s_ -s _o_ _sorry_! _T_ h _i_ s _i_ s _a_ l _l_ m _y_ f _a_ u _l_ t! _I_ -I _d_ -d _i_ d _n_ 't _m_ e _a_ n... _I_ d _i_ d _n_ 't _w_ -w _h..._ I' _m_ s _o_ s _o_ r _r_ y _!_ " WarGreymon choked out. Repeating himself over and over again.

"It's not your fault WarGreymon," Davis said. But it didn't help. WarGreymon cried, blaming himself. Kari wouldn't let go of Angewomon as she sobbed into her chest. Everyone stayed quiet until the ambulance arrived.

* * *

 **Happy Halloween! Ok, so I know that this wasn't really a scary chapter but I hope it's a good one for you guys! I have some easter eggs in this chapter and I wonder if you guys can find them all. One is rather hard to figure out since it's a bit out there. I'll give a hint: It's a name. Person to get them all get's a cookie in the next chapter :D**

 **So with Guest Reviews, I would like it if you could please put a name on the review so you know I answered you it was your review.**

 **Guest: Thanks ^^ I'm glad you found this interesting. Also thanks for being the first to review!**

 **NExt chapter will be out when I get it out. I can't do a scadule or anything and I won't promese releace dates ether. I will _try_ my best to at least update this one a month but no prommeses. **

**See you guys next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3: Support Amongst Each Other

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is an entertainment franchise jointly owned by Toei Animation, Bandai, and created by Akiyoshi Hongo. In The Shadow of Light is a fanfiction idea imagined and created by yours truly, Ace Spiritwell. Please respect and support the official properties.

 **Author's Note:** Sorry for disappearing for 3 months. I've had a really hard time lately and December was full on. I hope everyone had a great Holiday and New Year. Once again, I'm still horrible at spelling and grammar, but I believe I might be getting better. I'd like to thank TheSenesX for proofreading this story and leonardo1123581321 as this story is dedicated to him. Check out his stories and Deviantart as he's great at drawing! The same with TheSenesX. She's one of the best artists I know! Check them out (^_^)

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Support Amongst Each Other**

All Kari could hear was the ringing of the sirens. People rushed around her to help out Izzy but she didn't move. She couldn't hear the questions of the paramedics or fully process when Matt placed his hand on her shoulder. The greenery of the park soon turned into white walls with some light wood accents. Blue chairs lined the wall and were filled by the other Digidestined. The sound of constant beeps from the different machines along with the coughs of patients and the talking and whispering from the staff echoed throughout the hallways. The smell of chemicals was overpowering for Kari's liking. No matter how many times she came here, Kari always hated the Hospital.

 _His eyes. Gone was all the compassion and care that he normally looked at with her with. There was no anger, sorrow, regret or joy, just an empty look that felt like it was staring into her very soul. Not a single word came out of his mouth, no matter how many times she asked a question. Gatomon couldn't get him to respond either. He stood there in silence._

 _Soon, the sword in his hands swang down and attacked Gatomon. Kari let out a cry of shock. Gatomon Digivolved to fight him despite Kari's pleads not to. Something was off, this...This wasn't her brother. She watched the others appear while her body trembled. Not even explaining the situation helped her understand what was going on. All she could do was cry._

 _Everyone's pleads. Doing their best to try to reason with him. Asking him what was going on, why he was doing this. Then…_

" _You're hurt? I'm surprised you even got off your stupid ass computer to even realise I was missing. After all, I'm not an electronic or made out of data so why would you care?"_

 _His voice so cold, a smirk that was cruel but still emotionless._

 _Davis was angry, Sora and Matt were in shock and Izzy hurt._

 _Something was off. She should have done something instead of standing around. This was her fault. It had to be. It had to…_

"Kari?"

Kari blinked twice. The grey doors of the O.R. remained closed, just like when Izzy was rushed in. Kari looked over to see Matt looking at her with worried eyes. He wiped away her tears that ran down her cheeks with the most care that he could. Kari looked down at the floor in shame before she turned her head back to the door.

Matt gave out a small sigh. He placed a hand onto Kari's back and lead the girl away from the door to sit on one of the vacant blue chairs. Matt sat down next to her and pulled her into a hug as he rubbed her back.

Kari looked over to the rest of the Digidestined to see how they were going. Joe was pacing backwards and forwards throughout the hall, muttering to himself about Izzy's wound and Tai's actions. Ken, Davis, T.K. and Cody were chatting quietly amongst themselves about what happened and possible ideas on why Tai did something like this. Cody and Ken were sitting in some of the chairs while T.K. and Davis stood up. Sora and Yolei sat in silence together, trying their best to process what happened.

The Digimon were still at the park, hidden from other humans as they searched for a place to hide for the night. With WarGreymon, not de-digivolving, they had to find a big enough space for a 10-ft tall dino man to hide for the night.

"You shouldn't blame yourself Kari," Matt said with a soothing tone.

Kari looked down into her hands. How could this not be her fault? She's Tai's sister and should have seen this coming. She should have realised how Tai was acting. Maybe this would have been avoided if…

"Kari! Snap out of it!"

Kari jumped in her seat and looked up to see T.K. looking at her with a small frown. T.K. gave a little chuckle, the frown turning into a small smile.

"You're as bad as Tai when something goes wrong. You two always blame yourselves," The holder of Hope said in a soft voice. Matt gave a smile to his younger brother and looked back to Kari.

"He's right. This isn't your fault at all. You didn't know Tai would attack Izzy like this." Matt gave a soft smile. "We'll figure this out."

"Yeah." T.K. placed a hand onto Kari's and gave a hopeful look to the silently crying teen. "We'll defeat whatever caused this and next thing you know, Tai will be home, safe and sound," Kari started to sob again and leaned into Matt's chest. T.K. gave a sad smile while he looked at the floor.

"We just have to have hope."

Kari gave a small smile to the two brothers. T.K. was right. All they had to do was hold onto hope that this will all be sought out.

The sound of running footsteps filled the corridor and snapped the Digidestined out of what they were doing. Kari and the others looked over to see Masami and Kae Izumi run over to the group. Kae looked over to Joe with teary eyes.

"We got your message, is Izzy ok? What happened? Does it have to do with the Digital World? Is Tentomon ok? Are you all ok? Why weren't we told about this?" Kae asked question after question, overwhelming Joe as he tried to answer all of the questions.

"Deep breaths sweetie. Give the kids some time to answer." Masami told his wife, trying his best to soothe her while being worried himself. Kae took some deep breaths and looked over to the Digidestined for some answers.

Joe took a deep breath and looked at the Izumi's with an apologetic look.

"Izzy had his right arm cut off at the shoulder. The wound was cauterized but he still needed surgery. I'm...I'm sorry."

Kae broke down sobbing as soon as Joe finished talking. She buried her head into her husband's chest while her heart felt like it was falling apart. Tears ran down Mazami's face as he hugged his wife. He swallowed a lump that was forming in his throat.

"W-was t-the Digital W-world involved?" He asked. His voice shaking with emotion that he could barely contain. Joe looked to the rest of the group, unsure of what to say. The Digidestined looked around the corridor to see if anyone else was around. Matt took a deep breath and looked over to the Izumi's.

"Yeah, we were in the Digital World when it happened. Despite having some Digimon with us, we couldn't stop it from happening. The attack came out of nowhere. I'm sorry." Matt said, his voice was full of guilt.

Masami shook where he stood. He gave a small, shaky smile to the children that were surrounding him. He went to open his mouth to let the Digidestined know that none of this was their fault when the doors to the O.R. opened. The group looked over to see the surgeon come out from the room. He gave everyone a small smile as he came up to them.

"Good evening. My name is Doctor Kimyona and I've come to let you know that the operation went well and your friend is recovering." Dr Kimyona said in a calm tone. Everyone left out a sigh of relief when they heard those words they were waiting for. Dr Kimyona looked over and saw Masami and Kae with the kids.

"Ah. You must be Koushiro's parents. I'll take you to where he's recovering." The Izumi's walked over to Dr Kimyona as the doctor looked over to the kids. "Are you going to answer any more questions about what happened or do you still don't know?" He asked with a small knowing gleam in his eye.

The kids shook their heads. Dr Kimyona shook his head with a small chuckle.

"Alright. I suggest that you kids go home and get some sleep. You have school tomorrow and I think it would be best for you all to focus on something other than your friend." The Doctor said. The kids all gave tired nods and left the corridor in silence.

* * *

Matt, Kari and T.K. walked down the street as the orange sky over Odaiba became purple with small stars speckled throughout. The small group listened to the nightlife of the city. The traffic had slowed down considerably from the early evening as everyone was most likely home from work. Stores started to lock up for the night as closing time drew near. The civilians ate dinner and enjoyed each other's company along with either street food or some nice cuisine from one of the local restaurants. Even during the night, Odaiba was full of life. Matt had bought the group some Takoyaki to eat as they walked home.

Matt looked over to Kari as she looked at her food. Matt could tell that the thought of eating mad Kari feel sick. Matt couldn't blame her, he didn't feel like eating either, but it was important to do so. The warm lights lining the streets lit up the surrounding area as they made their way to Kari's apartment complex. Matt let out a small sigh as he watched the young girl.

"You need to eat. Worrying yourself to the ground won't do you any favours." Matt said with concern. Kari had hardly talked since they left the hospital. T.K. finished off his meal and pulled out the stick that was in his mouth. He closed his eyes and gave a small smirk.

"If you don't eat Kari, you'll get sick. And being sick will mean you'll be stuck in bed." T.K. said in a casual voice. Kari looked over to the younger boy as they continued to walk. "And that means you can't go to the Digital World to save Tai because you'll need to recover. Sooo, I suggest that you start to eat your Takoyaki so that doesn't happen."

Kari's eyes widened in realization and she started to eat her food. Matt looked over to his younger brother who had a smirk of satisfaction on his face. Matt raised an eyebrow while T.K. shrugged.

"What? It's true. All she needed was for that to be pointed out." T.K. stated with a matter of fact tone. He looked over to Matt who had the look of disapproval and curiosity of where he learnt to get Kari to do something so easily. T.K. gave a small, sad smile.

"Tai taught me that over a year ago when we went to the Digital World without you guys. He said that pointing out the fact that not taking care of herself could cause harm to others or stop her from doing what she has her heart set on would get her to take care of herself. But, you need to do it in that tone like you don't really care," T.K. gave a small chuckle. "I asked if the same thing would work on him. Tai blushed and gave a small laugh." T.K. felt the smile on his face grow, "If there's one thing Tai cares about, it's Kari, and he wants to make sure that others can watch over her when he's not here."

Matt gave a small chuckle and ruffled T.K.'s hair under his hat. T.K. gave a disapproving grunt.

"While I don't necessarily agree with manipulating others like that, if it's the only way to get Kari to look after herself, then I guess it'll have to do." Matt said as he grinned at the younger boy. T.K. let out a laugh as he tried to get his hat back from Matt who decided that he would take it.

The two brothers came out of their own world when they heard Kari clear her throat. They looked over to her with blank faces as she looks at them with an annoyed one, a small stick poking out of her mouth.

"You do know I can hear you guys talking right next to me, right?" Kari asked in a deadpan tone.

Both Matt and T.K. looked over to each other and blinked. They then felt a warm blush come to their faces as they give off a nervous laugh. Kari's look of annoyance turned to one of amusement as she started to laugh. The brothers joined in as they walked the rest of the way to Kari's home.

When they reached the door, Kari went to open it but the door flew open. Kamiya Yuuko was standing in the doorway with tears running down her face as she used her hand to wipe them away.

"Tai! I'm sorry. I was wrong about what I said. Nothing was your fault. I'm sorry I mis…" Yuuko stopped midsentence when she looked up to see Kari, Matt and T.K. in the doorway without Tai. Her shoulders sunk as she bowed her head. She moved to the side to let the small group in. Kari hugged her mother as the boys placed their food rubbish into the trash.

"I'm sorry Matt, T.K. I heard your voices and thought that Tai was with you." Yuuko said as she lead the Digidestined to the living room. She went and got drinks for them as they sat down and looked over to the worried mother.

"Sorry Mrs Kamiya, Tai isn't with us." T.K. stated as he gave Matt a nervous look. Matt let out a small sigh.

"We haven't heard from Tai since yesterday afternoon," Matt said in a deflated tone. Yuuko nodded as some tears started to fall again.

"I guess I should call up Kyoko. She'll be able to find Tai in no time. She also knows him well so it should be fine." Yuuko said as she placed the drinks down and sat next to Kari.

Matt went to speak again but he noticed something on the wall near Tai's bedroom door. He stood up and walked over to it to see a small fist size indent in the wall. It wasn't too deep but it was still noticeable. Matt ran his fingers over it and looked at Yuuko with worry.

"What's this?" Matt asked. Yuuko looked over to Matt and saw the indention. She quickly looked down to the ground.

"It's n-nothing." She stuttered out. Kari grabbed her mother's hand and looked her in the eye.

"We should tell them. Maybe they have an answer to why it happened." Kari said in a soft tone. Yuuko bit her lip and nodded her head. Matt gave the duo a worried look as he walked back over to the living room and sat down next to his brother. Matt and T.K. waited patiently for Yuuko to talk. Yuuko took a deep breath in.

"When Tai got home after school hours on Monday, I was waiting for him. I wanted to know why he got into a fight at school then ditched before class started. Tai tried to go to his room but I stopped him before he got to his door. I demanded to know what happened. Tai said that some of the students from the other class were saying cruel things about Digimon and called Sora a bitch." Yuuko spoke in a drained tone as she looked into her lap.

"I told him that name calling and people talking about Digimon in a bad light was no reason to kick someone over the head." She fiddled with the ribbon of her apron so her hands had something to do. "Tai tried to say that he knew that. He tried to walk away but when they hurt Sora, he just...lost it." Yuuko stood up and started to clear away some clothing that was on the couch.

"I told him that this was no reason to leave school…." Yuuko trailed off as she swallowed a lump in her throat.

Matt watched Kari looked at her mother for a moment before turning towards him and his brother. She took a deep breath in to calm herself before she spoke.

"I came out of my room when mum said that. I could see the irritation in Tai's face as he gripped his school bag. He told mum that the other students called him a terrorist and everyone in class was talking about it. He couldn't handle it and had to leave." Kari got up from the couch and walked over to her mother to lead her back down to sit. Yuuko hesitated but complied. "Mum said that Tai needed to let go of the childish teasing of the other teens and take responsibility for his actions."

"Tai went quiet. I heard him ask Mum if he really was a terrorist and if the attacks where his fault...if he should have taken better action…" Kari said with a shaky voice. She rubbed Yuuko's back as the older woman hugged her torso.

"I didn't hear him properly. I...I told him yes...I said that it was his fault and that he should have taken better action and acted like an adult." Tears started to run down Yuuko's face again. "His face said it all, he was hurt and felt betrayed by my words...he thought that his own mother saw him as a terrorist. Anger took over and his let out a yell and punched the wall."

Matt and T.K. looked at Kari and Yuuko in shock. Tai had punched a wall so hard that caused a dint in it. Matt looked down at his Digivice and thought of the anger Tai was feeling. Where did all of this come from?

"I-i let out a small cry of shock. Tai had snapped out of his anger and saw what he did. I-i-I've never seen him so s-s-scared. T-terror filled his eyes as he ran in-into his room and locked th-the door." Yuuko was sobbing into her hands at this point. Her voice was filled with guilt. "I g-got so angry at him. I told him that he was g-grounded and couldn't go to the b-big soccer game on Saturday. I-i heard nothing back."

Kari hugged her mother as tears of her own came down her face. She looked over to the two blonds who were still shocked to hear what happened.

"When Dad got home, I told him what happened and Dad helped me explain what Tai said during the argument to Mum. I've never seen her look so guilty. She tried to apologise to Tai but he wouldn't unlock his door or talk to any of us." Kari looked down into her lap. She pulled out her locket and held it to her heart. "I guess I hurt him since I said nothing during the entire conflict." Kari wiped away the tears that were falling down her face.

"I know that Tai hates getting angry but this was something else. The only other time I've seen this was after that summer. He was so scared when he got angry that he would lock himself away and not come out for a day or so." When Kari finished up T.K. had his hand over his mouth with his eyes widened.

"Holy shit. SkullGreymon traumatized him more than we could have ever imagined." T.K. said quietly. Yuuko and Kari heard and looked over to T.K. in confusion.

"What does SkullGreymon have to do with Tai's anger? I thought he came about when Tai forced Agumon to digivolve because he wanted to defeat Etemon and another Greymon. Tai told me it was out of impatience." Kari said. Confusion filled her voice. T.K. didn't say anything as he looked at the ground in shock. Matt let out a sigh and looked over to the two Kamiya's.

"You're right Kari. Tai did force Agumon to Digivolve but it was also out of anger. I don't really remember what Etemon said, but he really pissed off both Tai and Agumon and because of that Tai used his anger to Digivolve Greymon to SkullGreymon." Matt said but his voice was shaking from remembering what happened in the Colosseum.

"I don't understand. Why would Tai be scared of his own anger?" Yuuko asked. Matt went to answer but T.K. cut him off.

"Tai never gave you guys the full story did he?" He asked in a quiet tone. Yuuko and Kari both shook their heads. T.K. let out a sigh before he looked them in the eye.

"SkullGreymon almost killed all of us and Tai was fuelling it. I remember he said that he would rip Etemon to shreds. When SkullGreymon started to attack us, Tai snapped out of his anger and was terrified. When SkullGreymon became Koromon both he and Tai couldn't digivolve, they were so scared to bring back SkullGreymon that they couldn't do it. If it weren't for Piximon, I doubt they ever would have had the courage to digivolve again." T.K. finished up his story. He watched horror fill both of the women's faces.

"And I guess that because Tai never wanted to bring back SkullGreymon he locked up his anger or something like that. We thought that SkullGreymon effected Tai but not to this extreme." Matt added.

Yuuko looked over to a photo she had hung up from when Tai and Kari got home from their first trip to the Digital World. The entire family was in it due to this being sent around to the extended family as proof that they were still alive. Both Kari and Tai were smiling but it was forced. She remembered how hard it was for both of her children to adjust back to living in a city but she never thought that her carefree son was keeping such a big burden to himself.

"So Tai ran away? So he could deal with his anger?" Yuuko asked in a soft tone. She closed her eyes and pictured her son coming home and hugging everyone, apologizing for running away and for scaring everyone. A small, sad smile crossed her face. Tai always did blame himself when anything went wrong but he was getting better...

"No, Tai's in the Digital World. He was kidnapped by a Digimon. We're working on getting him back." Yuuko snaped opened her eyes and looked at Matt in shock. She looked over to the other children in the room but they both looked down to the floor with guilt and sorrow.

"How?" Was all Yuuko could get out.

Kari gave her mother a brief rundown on what happened yesterday afternoon and what happened in the Digital World. She left out the part about Izzy because she wasn't sure if she should mention it or not. Yuuko started to cry again. Matt got off the couch and kneeled in front of Yuuko. He placed his hands on hers and gave her a look of confidence.

"I promise you Mrs Kamiya. I will bring Tai back, safe and sound. I'll make sure of it." Matt stated to her. Yuuko looked at him with tears filled eyes. But hope could be seen inside them. T.K. and Kari smiled at Yuuko. They'll have Tai by then, no matter what.

* * *

Lilithmon hummed a small tune to herself as she walked down the castle's halls towards her chamber. Everything was going according to plan. She has The Child of Courage by her side, and as an added bonus, the legendary weapon that was lost to time. Yet frustration grew within her code as she thought about that bloody weapon.

"Hm͠h͠h.̀ I͞ j͡ust̀ ͝c͡ąn't ̛und͡ersta͢nd t҉h̴at̶ ͏p͘eic̛e of͝ ̢ju͘n͜k̛." Lilithmon huffed out in irritation. "How̧ ̡c̛omé t͠h̛at stu̶pi̴d swo͜r̷d̕ i̧s t͝oo he͟ąvy͟ ҉for ̵me b̸ut a̶ sm͡a̕l̡l we͏a̕k͞ l͞it̸tl̢e ̷h͢um̧a̴n b͜o̸y̨ ͞ca̵n ͡pic͞k̴ ͞it͜ u͝p with ͠e̡as̡ȩ?̀"

Lilithmon made her way to her chamber and opened the door. The room was circular in shape but large enough to have a ball inside. The dark oak floor gave some warmth against the cool, grey stone walls. There was a circular bed against the left wall of the room all made up with rich purple sheets with dark green pillows and accents. Transparent purple curtains fell around the bed neatly. The bookshelves, side tables and desk were all made from dark oak as well.

Lilithmon walked over her sitting area and sat down on one of the many chairs circling the fireplace on the wall directly opposite to the bed. She stretched out her legs and gave a groan.

"I j̕u͠st̕ ̢w͟antéd͏ to ̧hav͝e ̢m͜ore̶ po͟w̶er ͘ove̢r͟ the ͞o̷t̵h͞ers͝. Wh̢y̕ doe̶s t̨h̴aţ h̢ave ̨t͜o͢ b̷e͏ ̶s̴o̵oo hard̸.҉?" Lilithmon whined to herself. This sword was powerful and could be used to kill herself and the others. Lilithmon huffed, then she let out a small dreamy sigh as she thought about her newest soldier. Tai was strong and fast. It was incredible how fast he had outrun the other Digimon around him. He was quick on his feet and could see how to turn a situation to his advantage.

"Ah, Tai̢ ̀oh,͡ Tai. ͠Yo͟u'͘l͝l̨ ͢be̸ thé p͏e͏rf͢ec҉t s͞o̢ld̴ier͝ ́for us̛,͟ f̕o͟r͢ m͘e. I͠'l͘l impr͝o͝ve͟ ̸yo͡u͡ ͜t͞o ̢the p͝o͜i̸nt̨ t̕h̨at̕ y͡o͘u'͜l͟l b̧e͜ con͏sidéred o̡n̢e ̨of us.͝" Lilithmon said to herself. A smile was on her face as she remembered when the Digidestined took down Etemon. Tai was the only reason that they won that and she saw it. Her smile fell as she thought more about her situation.

"̛I͞ just ́pra͜y t͢h͘ąt̢ the͢ ̸bós̸s͡ ́doésń't decíd͘e͢ ́that͏ ̧h͞e͘ l͝i͞ke͡s yo͝u.͜.." She muttered to herself.

The sound of opening doors caught Lilithmon's attention as she sat up to see who was coming inside her quarters. She hadn't invited anyone and the others were away so who could it be. Lilithmon gritted her teeth a the thought of some of the rookies trying to sneak in to get a look of her. She had to think of a...better punishment for them if they didn't stop.

"O͜h̀?̶ "

To Lilithmon's surprise, Tai walked into her quarters. Joy bubbled up inside of her at the fact that Tai remembered where she was staying.

"͞ _T͟ai!̸ ̧W̕el҉co͜m̛e̵ ̴b̕a̡ck~_ " Lilithmon sang in a seductive tone. She watched Tai wince, drop what he was carrying to cover his ears. Lilithmon gave a confused look before she realised what she was doing.

"Oh! I am so sorry handsome. I forgot that I was talking like that." Lilithmon said. She motioned for Tai to come and sit next to her on the chaise lounge.

Tai picked up the items he dropped and walked over to Lilithmon. He stopped in front of her but stayed standing up. Lilithmon clicked her tongue in annoyance when she noticed what Tai was carrying.

"What is that?" She asked. Tai looked down at the arm he was carrying and threw it on the ground.

"Izzy, the Child of Knowledge's arm. The Digidestined were at the village you told me to...put in place." Tai stated in a monotone voice. Lilithmon looked into his emotionless eyes and let out a sigh.

Lilithmon got up and slapped Tai across the face so hard that he fell to the ground. A purple bruise quickly formed on his cheek as blood started to fall from the centre of the slap. Lilithmon let out a growl.

"We want the Digidestined alive! Not for you go try to kill them! Not only that, but a little devil told me that you didn't kill a single Digimon within the village! You will learn to follow orders or the deal is off!" Lilithmon yelled, her eyes changing colour for a brief moment.

Tai got on one knee and bowed his head. He tried to show no sign of pain or a reaction to being slapped but his body slightly shook.

"I'm sorry Lilithmon. I can't bring myself to kill others. As for the Digidestined, The bearer of Knowledge is just a human, so this injury should keep him out of the picture for now." Tai said, keeping his head bowed. "I won't act outside your orders again."

Lilithmon smiled. She lifted Tai's chin so they looked each other in the eye. She moved her hand to stroke his bruised cheek. Tai let out a small hiss as Lilithmon's finger crossed the bruise. Lilithmon gave a satisfied smile.

"I guess we'll just have to train it out of you then _my dear~_ " Lilithmon sang with a malicious smile gracing her lips. Lilithmon watched as Tai's face didn't change in the slightest. She felt proud of herself, she was making progress with the bearer of Courage.

Then, Lilithmon caught alertness running though Tai's eyes. She blinked twice before she leaned down to Tai and placed her lips onto his own. Tai relaxed a bit and didn't pull away. Lilithmon released Tai and gave a sweet smile and a little hum.

"What do you think about training to become a better fighter?" Lilithmon asked with a kind tone. Lilithmon looked Tai into the eye with a cruel gleam in her own eye. "You could use it to protect _her~_ " She spoke in a quiet yet manipulative tone.

Tai once again bowed his head, for a moment, his body tensed before relaxing again.

"As you wish." Tai said.

Lilithmon gave a small squeal of glee. She motioned for Tai to get up from the ground. Once he did she guided him out of her chamber and down a long, dark corridor where the stone walls started to grow moss.

"I guess we should get back to your lessons then!" Lilithmon said with excitement as she clung to Tai's arm.

* * *

The School cafeteria was as lively as always during the lunch period. Students were getting their food from the cafeteria, talking about class and just goofing off. Some students got food and left to enjoy the warm spring air, while others were going to their clubs that took place during lunch.

Sora was at a table with 3 of the soccer team members from her class. She tried to sit by herself but they found her and sat down to have their lunch. Kyo and Juudai sat together while Takato sat next to Sora on the other side of the table.

Kyo was known as the most hot-headed of the soccer team, only just before their keeper. He was one of the best they had for their midfield players. Takato was the shyest out of all of the team as he just joined them this school year and was working on his confidence. He was a defender and with the help from Tai and the rest of the soccer team, he was going really well. Lastly was Juudai who was one of the team's best defenders and one of the most laid back teen you'd ever meet. He was also the school's best gamer whether it be board games, card games or video games. He was undefeated. Juudai was laughing at Kyo who was complaining about the homework they were getting even though it's only been just over the month.

Sora tried to take part in the conversation but didn't have the spirit to, so she half listened to what was going on while she picked at her food. She was worn down and tired from not getting any sleep the night before. How could she with everything going on…

Sora closed her eyes and thought back to Tai. He was completely emotionless, then the anger that seemed to come out of nowhere. But what bugged her the most was how disconnected he seemed to be despite all of this. How could he hurt Izzy like that? Since they were 7, Tai and Izzy were the closest friends Sora had ever seen. Not only that, Tai kept on calling their home "Earth", like he had no connection to it anymore.

"Oi Matt! Tell us!" A voice pulled Sora and the players out of their thoughts and conversation as they all blinked in surprise.

"Yea Grumpy! You didn't say anything in class! And You didn't tell us off for pranking the teacher." Another voice added on.

Sora looked up to see Matt walking over to the table with Hikaru, Kaoru and Masaru behind him. Hikaru and Kaoru where the school's junior pranksters and loved to keep up the school spirit. They were the two forward players for the team and they worked together like pros. Masaru had a reputation of being some form of a delinquent. He was a great defender and had a habit of getting carded when the other team were playing unfairly. All of these guys were good friends with Tai.

"Are you still moping about the break up with Sora? I thought it was a mutual agreement." Hikaru said as the group sat down.

Both Matt and Sora blushed a deep red and refused to look at one another. Kaoru and Hikaru laughed at the two exs while Masaru looked over to Sora with a goofy smile.

"Besides feeling embarrassed by our jokers, how are you feeling today Sora?" Masaru asked with a friendly tone. Sora gave a half smile and shrug of the shoulders. Masaru felt his smile fall and looked at Sora with concern.

"Hey. Is everything ok? You seem rather down today." Masaru asking with concern filling his voice. Hikaru and Kaoru stopped harassing Matt and looked over to Sora with confusion and interest in the conversation.

Sora looked over to Matt before she looked down to her hands. She wasn't sure on how to answer. The Digidestined all agreed not to talk about what happened to Izzy and that Tai shouldn't be mentioned until they figured out what was going on. But this was Tai's team…

"I didn't want to pry, but by the sound of things, you guys are rather distant today. Is everything alright?" He turned to Sora. "I know that you're not doing the best today since you didn't take part in class at all." Juudai turned back to the rest of the group. "How about you guys? Matt, are you alright?" Juudai asked the group while he looked at both Sora and Matt. Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other with a surprised look.

"Now that you mention it. Matt didn't talk at all during class and we were doing astronomy today. he's always loved that topic since middle school." Hikaru and Kaoru said at the same time. Masaru nodded his head in agreement at the statement the twins made. Masaru looked over to the holders of Love and Friendship with a serious look.

"What's bothering you two? It's odd for you guys to be so reserved like this." Masaru asked with a serious tone. All of the team waited for an answer from the two Digidestined. Matt and Sora looked over to one another, lost on what to do. Tai cared about his team and trusted them. Matt nodded to Sora and she took a breath.

"It's…" Sora looked at her untouched food and placed down her chopsticks. "...It's Tai"

The soccer team looked at one another with worry as they thought over the past few days.

"Is he ok? He hasn't been at school and his missed practise yesterday for the first time this school year." Takato said with a soft tone. Sora looked around the cafeteria to see that everyone was caught up in their social interactions and having fun. She looked back down into her lap.

"We don't know. We're all worried about him…" Sora spoke quietly but everyone could still hear her. Sora replayed yesterday's events in her head. Izzy crossing her mind. She hugged her torso for some kind of comfort. "We don't know why he would do this…"

"Was it to do with the fight on Monday?" Juudai asked with concern. Masaru started to shake at the thought of the other students acting so cruel to Tai.

"No one should talk to anyone like that! Especially Tai! If needed, I'll beat the crap out of those guys!" Masaru said as he stood up from his seat and looked at Sora and Matt with determination for revenge. Kyo grinned at Masaru's statement and stood up next to his friend with a look of vengeance.

"Hell Yeah! I'll join you!" Kyo yelled. Juudai, Hikaru and Kaoru did their best to keep the two hot-headed members at their table. Takato did his best to keep the other students from asking questions as Kyo and Masaru were attracting a lot of unwanted attention.

After the group managed to get the two players under control they all sat in silence. Matt and Sora didn't know what else to say. The air was filled with concern and uncertainty as no one knew what to say next. Sora looked down at her forgotten food while some of the others started to eat again.

"Is Tai in trouble?"

Everyone looked at Takato who blushed at the attention. Sora looked to Matt and gave him a look to ask what to say. Matt shrugged at Sora and tried to think of what to say or mention without mentioning the Digital World.

"I heard that Tai ran away after school on Tuesday. He was last seen at the main building of the combined school." a deeper voice spoke before Matt or Sora could think of what to say.

Sora looked over and for a second she thought she saw Tai. Tai and this teen had the same build, height, eye colour and hairstyles. They even acted similar. But this teen had more of an olive skin tone, unlike Tai's tan, and his hair colour was a black green instead of the rich brown Tai was known for. This was Spike, Tai's best friend outside of the Digital World. He gave everyone a smile and sat down next to Sora.

"It's been going around that Tai ran away from school to due to the fight that happened. Most people say that he felt guilty and ran to clear his head or something. Others say that he was having a lot of family trouble and what happened was the final straw so he decided to leave." Spike said as he started to eat. He looked over to Matt and Sora and gave a small smirk.

"The most interesting one is that people think that in the computer lab within the main building is where the creatures that attacked the city came from and he went to them."

Spike watched Matt choke on his ramen and Sora drop her water in shock, spilling it everywhere. Sora apologised for the mess and started to clean up. Takato offered to help while Masaru helped Matt get over choking. Once again a few students looked over to the group with a look of confusion and disapproval. This time round Kyo dealt with them and got the students to leave them alone.

Spike started to laugh at the two bearers of Love and Friendship. He gave a smirk to both of them as they glared at him. Sora felt her anger melt away watching Spike's reaction. He was laid back and carefree, much like Tai was when he got a reaction like this out of any of the Digidestined. Sora caught her thoughts and looked back down into her lap, playing with her hands. Spike felt his smile fade a bit as he looked at the two Digidestined.

"Is Tai in the Digital World? Is there anything we can do?" Spike asked with a smile. Sora looked over to Spike but didn't say anything. Matt took a breath and nodded his head. He looked around the room to make sure no one else would be listening to what they were saying.

"Yeah. Tai wasn't running away but he went to the Digital World to deal with a threat without telling us first. He was kidnapped and we only knew because his partner told us." When Matt finished talking the soccer team was quiet. Kyo looked frustrated as he let out a small growl.

"Damn it! We should have been able to help! I noticed that he was acting strange after lunch on Tuesday." Kyo said while his fist shook. He looked guilty that he didn't do something sooner for the guy he looked up to.

"I know how you feel man, but what can we do? We weren't chosen by the Digital World to help. We can't do anything on that front." Juudai said with the calmest voice he could muster.

"If you guys need any cover for being late or missing classes or clubs, I'll be more than happy to do so." Spike said as he looked at Sora and Matt. Everyone looked at Spike with shock. Then, one by one, the team player's eyes lit up with determination.

"Same here Matt! You won't have to worry about the teacher finding out you're in another world and skipping school!" Hikaru said with a happy tone, like it was the best thing that he could ever do. Kaoru nodded with enthusiasm at his brother's statement.

"I'll collect any homework and notes that you might need from our class Matt." Masaru smiled, with his eyes closed and nodded his head.

"I'll do the same for you Sora," Takato said with a kind tone and gave a soft smile to Sora.

"Yep! No matter what we'll all be here to support all of you Digidestined." Juudai said with a happy-go-lucky tone and a big grin. Kyo smirked and nodded to the

"I know that all of the team, even our coach would be happy to help you out. We're here for whatever you guys need." Spike shared a grin with everyone on the table. The air became light with the team's show of support. Both Sora and Matt felt at ease.

* * *

Kari and T.K. were walking towards class as lunch just finished up. Kari kept her head down as she thought about Tai. She shouldn't be wasting time at school while Tai's in danger. Every hour they waisted was a Day for Tai. She should be in the Digital World figuring out a way to defeat this Lilithmon.

Kari felt a hand be placed on her shoulder and looked over to see T.K. looking at her with concerned filled eyes. Kari let out a sigh and continued to walk to class. She didn't want to talk to T.K. about this again.

The chatter of students and teachers bounced off the walls of the hallway. Students made their way to their classes while others stood around and talked to each other about numerous things. Everything felt light and joyous. T.K. and Kari arrived at their classroom to hear all of the students talking to one another.

Kari heard some laughter in front of her and looked up. She saw a pair of teens walking towards them as went to sit at their decks. A teen with ebony hair with a noticeable scar under his left eye looked over to her. He gave her a big grin and walk right up to her desk, his straw hat bouncing on his back.

"Hey Kari! How are you?" The teen asked in a light chipper voice. Kari gave the teen a small smile that was hardly noticeable.

"Oh, hey Luffy. I'm going ok I guess." Kari said with a flat tone. Luffy looked over to his friend who had a long nose and gave a questioning look. The friend shrugged his shoulders. Luffy looked back over to Kari and gave her a smile.

"I won't ask what's going on. If you wanted to talk you would say so, but I wanted to let you know that I'm here if you need to." Luffy said in a casual tone. Kari looked up at Luffy with a shocked expression. Luffy just grinned.

"Tai helped out Ace a lot back when they were in middle school. I remember Ace feeling crap about himself and everything about himself and the world. He hated everything besides Sabo and myself. Tai offered friendship and a way to let out all of his anger in inviting him to join the soccer team with Spike and himself." Luffy placed his straw hat on his head and taught back to how kind Tai was to Ace when he needed a friend to help him out.

"Tai has always been there for all three of us wherever we needed something." Luffy looked back at Kari with a grin "I just thought that it would be great if we could be there when you guys needed something so I'll be here if you need anything, anything at all."

Kari gave Luffy a genuine smile. It was nice to see that someone else that wasn't involved with the Digital World offer to help. Luffy's friend pushed him to the side and pointed at himself while puffing out his chest.

"And I, the great Usopp! Will help you no matter the problem! Did you know that I was asked to be a part of the worlds best university at the age of 5?" Usopp expressed himself with a proud voice as Luffy looked at him with starry eyes and amazement. Kari couldn't help but laugh at such a silly lie.

T.K. raised an eyebrow at Usopp with an amused look on his face. He felt himself relax hearing Kari laugh and was happy that Luffy and his lying friend had offered to help Kari out when needed. Looks like help can come from unusual places.

* * *

Lilithmon smiled as Tai played "Moonlight Sonata" on the piano within the grand ballroom. Lilithmon felt herself melt as the tones echoed around the vast room. She felt at peace and a certain calm she hadn't felt in a while. She was so happy that Tai took her advice to take up the piano. The stress always found a way to disappear with the first few keys.

The smooth, grey stone walls were complimented by dark oak floors that had a diamond pattern burnt into the wood itself. Arches stretched to the roof of the room as candlelit chandeliers hung from the beams. Red velvet chairs lined the walls with tables in between the groups. Lilithmon loved this room over anywhere else within the castle.

A crash echoed throughout the castle and Tai stopped playing the piano and froze. Lilithmon felt her eyes narrow. Who could be here? When she heard a deep, laid back voice, she felt herself relax a little.

 _'It looks like they're back.'_ Lilithmon thought as she felt a smirk spread along her face. This was going to be interesting.

Lilithmon wrapped her arms around Tai to "comfort" him and to "keep him safe". Soon 6 Digimon walked into the ballroom and Tai looked at every Digimon that entered the room with caution.

" _Hello~_ How was the recruitment trip?" Lilithmon sang out to the new people who entered the room. One of the Digimon grunted and looked at Tai straight in the eyes, stepping back in shock.

"Is that...The Child of Courage?" The Digimon asked in a rough, female voice. The other 5 Digimon looked over to Tai with shock and disbelief. Another Digimon smiled at Tai and Lilithmon.

"You got a Digidestined on our side?" His voice was young but excitable. Lilithmon gave a sickly sweet smile as she gripped Tai tighter.

"Well, he came over to our side after a little...talk." She said with a sly tone. The younger Digimon let out a laugh.

"This is going to be so much fun! I can't wait to show him how great it'll be on our side and how fantastic I am." The younger Digimon replied. A clocked Digimon looked at Tai and let out a growl.

"Why do we need a Digidestined here? I thought we're going to show that they weren't needed!" He growled out while glaring at Tai. Tai turned away from the growling Digimon and went back to playing the piano. Lilithmon let him go and walked over to the other Digimon.

" _Well~_ We made a deal. He'll do whatever we say and work for our cause on the condition that we never harm the Child of Light, his little sister." Lilithmon started to play with her hair as she watched the other Digimon. The cloaked one gave a grunt of disapproval and walked off. Lilithmon crossed her arms and glared at the fleeing Digimon before he looked towards the other 5.

"So, as long as we don't attack the Child of Light, we'll have the Child of Courage to use as we please." Lilithmon finished up her explanation and the Digimon nodded or grunted in understanding. One of the Digimon let out a yawn and left the room without any consideration for the others.

"This could be useful in the long run. What did the boss say?" Another Digimon asked as he fiddled with a gold coin. Lilithmon let out a sigh and let her arms fall to her side.

"He doesn't know...I think." She replied. She walked back over to Tai as he played a beautiful piece, ignoring the rest of the room's occupants. The Digimon with the gold coin placed it into his pocket and gave a grunt.

"Shall I tell him of our...guest?" He asked. Lilithmon clicked her tongue. The Digimon gave a small chuckle and left the room. The younger Digimon and the other female within the room followed after him.

The last Digimon in the room cleaned his gun and watched Tai with an observant eye. Lilithmon watched the Digimon and hardened her stare.

"Is something wrong, Beelzemon?" She asked the Digimon, Beelzemon as he kept his eyes on Tai.

"So he just came up and agreed to join the other side as long as we don't touch the Light?" Beelzemon asked with a tone that said he didn't believe what Lilithmon was saying. Lilithmon crossed her arms and clenched her teeth.

"What are you trying to say? HE tried to get us not to attack any of the Digidestined but I said he could choose one or I'll kill one. HE chose his sister and agreed to work for us." Lilithmon growled out. Beelzemon shook his head and turned his back towards Lilithmon.

"That's not what I meant." He said as he started to exit the room. He stopped in his tracks and turned back to Lilithmon.

"As for the recruitment, We have a group of 4 LadyDevimon who are willing to work with us and a small group of Datamon that are willing to do some of the tech stuff for us. There are also some Impmon, Elecmon and Psychemon who were more than willing to join us. Other than one Mega for...our boss, there's nothing of notice really," Beelzemon stated. Before Lilithmon could reply, Beelzemon walked off towards the kitchen area.

Lilithmon hummed in approval and looked back to Tai. She watched his fingers dance along the keys as he played "Clair de Lune". Lilithmon placed her hands over his and guided them to the right key after he missed a few. She felt joy within herself as she taught Tai to play the piano, even if there was a chance that her "Co-workers" would try to take him away.

* * *

T.K. walked alongside Kari as they made their way to the park after school was out. All of the Digidestined decided that they would skip their clubs so they could go to the Digital World sooner than later.

The park was as lively as it always was with many school children running around or studying while enjoying the fresh air. T.K. couldn't help but smile when he saw a kaleidoscope of butterflies fly right by them and danced amongst the rainbow spectrum of flowers around them. T.K. thought back to Oikawa and how he wished for himself to become butterflies to heal and protect the Digital World after the fight and devastation caused by Myotismon and himself.

A frown graced T.K.'s face as he thought about the fact that the peace only lasted for a year and it felt like Oikawa's sacrifice was for nothing. Why was there always some kind of dark Digimon that always wanted to take over the world or kill them? The thought of these Digimon hurting other and hurting Tai of all people mad T.K. angry. It wasn't fair! Couldn't they have some peace for more than 3 years?

"T.K.!" A voice yelled out and bought T.K. out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Patamon flying towards him. A smile crossed T.K.'s face again as he went and hugged his partner. He would never hate seeing Patamon, no matter what.

"Hey there buddy. How are you?" T.K. asked as he and Kari walked over to the rest of the group that had gathered. Patamon smiled and sat on T.K.'s head.

"I'm alright. Just trying to keep WarGreymon from running to the city to find a way back to the Digital World. That mon is a pain to keep in one place." Patamon half complained from his place. T.K. gave a small smile and rubbed his partner's head.

"I don't blame him. I have to keep an eye on Kari. Otherwise, she'd run off to the Digital World as well." T.K. laughed as Kari glared at him and gave a playful punch on the shoulder.

T.K. walked over towards the rest of the group and found that there was no WarGreymon or any of the other Digimon. He greeted everyone and hugged his brother. He looked up to Patamon with a confused look.

"Where's WarGreymon?" T.K. asked. Patamon gave a small smile and flew off T.K.'s head.

"WarGreymon is really ancy so only one of us could come and get you all." Patamon replied as he flew towards Joe and sat on his head. Joe started to wave his arms around with one leg up in the air as he tried his best not to lose balance. The group laughed at the scene. Patamon flew back into T.K.'s arms causing the holder of Reliability to fall over.

"How do you carry him on your head all the time?" Joe asked T.K. who just laughed at his older friend. Patamon let out a laugh.

"Sorry Joe. I wanted to ask how Izzy was going." Patamon said. Everyone looked over to the eldest as he got off the fresh grass. Joe let out a sigh as he looked off to the side.

"He's still unconscious. Doctor Kimyona said that he must have gone through shock after losing his arm that he hasn't woken up yet. He also has to stay in the hospital for a week." Joe said with a flat tone.

T.K. felt sick. This wasn't right. None of this was. Izzy should be here with them to help rescue Tai. He was the second in command and now he's out of commission. They needed to find out what was going on. Soon.

"I think we should go to the hideout now. I don't think WarGreymon can wait any longer." Patamon stated. T.K. gave a nod to his partner while Kari crossed her arms.

"Well, he's not the only one. Let's go!" Kari said. The group gave their agreement. Patamon flew ahead of the group. T.K. walked over to him and grabbed him out of the sky. Patamon was confused before he realised that he couldn't fly around the city without raising an alarm. Patamon gave out a nervous laugh before he pointed in the direction they needed to go.

T.K. and the other Digidestined followed Patamon towards the docks where the other Digimon were hiding in an old, rundown warehouse within a secluded part of the area. T.K. had to cover his nose to stop the smell of raw fish and oil that filled the cooler air. The only nice part of the area was the sound of the crashing sea against the man-made island.

Matt opened the old rusty door to reveal the rest of the Digimon. Veemon and Wormmon were playing a card game against each other while Hawkmon and Armadillomon watched. Gatomon looked irritated as she watched WarGreymon pace the width of the ground floor. Gatomon looked up and saw the group of Digidestined and called out Kari's name. The rest of the younger kids and their Digimon greeted each other with an embrace and a smile.

T.K. watched the scene and felt warm. He looked over to WarGreymon to greet him and felt his smile drop. WarGreymon had stopped pacing but didn't move from where he was. He watched the group and T.K. could see a slight discomfort within WarGreymon before the mon looked away and started to pace again.

The group of 16 walked over to WarGreymon and sat down on the ground or whatever they could find that would work as a seat. Cody looked over to WarGreymon and let out a sigh.

"WarGreymon, we're about to start the meeting. Could you please sit down?" Cody asked with a calm voice. WarGreymon let out a grunt and continued to pace. Cody let out a more exasperated sigh. "Please sit down. Your pacing is making me anxious."

WarGreymon looked down at the youngest member of the Digidestined and let out a huff. He walked over to a support beam that was closest to the group and leaned against it.

"Sorry. I just feel like I'm wasting time waiting around here. We're having a meeting that could take an hour or so and a day would have passed for Tai! I've wasted over 22 hours already! That's 22 DAYS!" WarGreymon said with an irritated tone. Patamon flew away from T.K. and sat on WarGreymon's head to offer some kind of comfort. WarGreymon gave a small smile to his friend and then looked over to the group.

"I don't understand why we're having a meeting before we go to the Digital World. I understand that you guys have school but why can't we just go to the Digital World then have a short meeting so we don't waste another day?" WarGreymon asked.

The older Digidestined looked at each other in shock. That was a valid point so why where they waiting around on Earth? Yolei cleared her throat and gave a small smile.

"I think we need to talk about what happened first in more detail before we go back. I'm still kind of in shock." Yolei said while rubbing that back of her head. Some of the other Digidestined nodded in agreement.

"It's also safer WarGreymon. We just need to get our heads around what Tai did." Matt said, his voice filled with reason. WarGreymon gave a small nod. T.K. could tell that WarGreymon didn't agree with what was happening but went along with it anyway. Ken cleared his throat and looked around the group.

"So, does anyone have any ideas on why Tai would attack Izzy and why he would try to harm us?" Ken asked. Kari frowned and looked down at Gatomon while WarGreymon crossed his arms.

"He's being controlled." Both Kari and WarGreymon said at the same time. Cody looked over to them with a skeptical look.

"I understand that you two really believe that Tai has no control here but we need to keep our options open in case there's something else going on. We don't want to be caught off guard again." Cody said. WarGreymon let out a small growl. Yolei gave a small nod.

"Cody's right. There is a possibility of Tai deciding to go against the Digital World. By the sound of things, it could be that Tai's angry at the Digital World and what it did to his life." Yolei added on to Cody's statement. Kari gave Yolei a shocked look.

"Are you crazy? No way would Tai want to hurt the Digital World" Kari said with disbelief. Most of the older Digidestined gave a nod in agreement.

"Kari's right. While there could be a small possibility of Tai going to the other side, there's no way Tai would do so to hurt the Digital World. He loves it there." Joe said. He winched back when Kari and WarGreymon shot a glare at him. WarGreymon let out a huff and shook his head.

"Tai's given up a lot for the Digital World. All of you have. But I know that Tai wouldn't just attack it for no reason. There's also no possibility of Lilithmon's ideals matching with Tai's either. He was unsettled by her sheer presence and tried to get me out of there as soon as she showed up." WarGreymon said. Davis looked at Kari and let out a small sigh.

"Kari? Are there any signs that Tai showed of being controlled?" Davis turned to WarGreymon and Gatomon. "How about you two? Where there any clues to show that Tai is being controlled?" Davis asked. Kari gave a small nod as she once again thought back to Tai.

"There was no emotion. Tai always has emotion in his eyes, even if his face is blank. But there was nothing…" Kari trailed off as she looked at her D3. Gatomon rubbed Kari's arm while WarGreymon sat down next to the holder of Light and moved her to his lap. Doing his best to give her comfort. Kari looked up at WarGreymon and smiled.

"Sure, Tai and Matt have gotten into fights where they hit each other but never to the state that they'll really hurt one another. They punched until the other said what was going through their head." WarGreymon said. He turned to look out one of the windows within the old warehouse. "Tai would never attack with the intention of killing or hurting us. Tai wouldn't do this to Izzy either. It makes no sense." WarGreymon shook his head as he tried to get Tai out of his head.

"I know there was something that seemed off about Tai. Like something didn't add up with how he was acting. I wish I knew what it was but I can't place it." Gatomon growled out in frustration. Kari patted Gatomon's head as a way to soothe her. Gatomon smiled at her partner with gratitude.

T.K. looked over the group and saw Ken deep in thought. He'd been like that since Davis asked Kari about Tai. T.K. cleared his throat and everyone looked over to him, including Ken. T.K. gave a small smile to the young prodigy.

"You alright Ken? You seem to be out of it." T.K. asked with concern. Ken let out a sheepish laugh and rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry. I know I should be paying attention but I've been thinking about another possibility with Tai." Ken said. This got everyone's attention.

"What do you think it is?" Sora asked with a kind tone. Ken looked down and T.K., Davis and WarGreymon saw the guilt in his eyes.

"What if Tai is being manipulated into doing what he's doing? Like how I was when… When I was the Digimon Emperor…" Ken rubbed his arm. Wormmon pressed his head against Ken's leg and climbed into his lap. Ken smiled at his partner and pulled him to a hug. Matt blinked in surprise.

"Do you think that Tai was hit by a dark spore?" Matt asked. Ken shrugged but Yolei shook her head.

"But the spore made Ken smart, strong, rude and cruel, not emotionless." Yolei stated. T.K. shook his head.

"That how it affected Ken. The other kids that had the spores placed inside them were a copy of Ken's. If Tai came across a spore after the defeat of Myotismon then there's a possibility that it could make him emotionless." T.K. said. Ken nodded in agreement.

"And with him being manipulated, Tai's perspective has been warped but he's still choosing what he's doing. Like how I was when I was the Emperor." Ken added on.

Joe nodded his head in approvement. "That's a good point. This sounds like the most likely thing that could have happened." Joe said. He smiled at the bearers of Kindness and Hope. Ken blushed at the praise while T.K. smiled back.

WarGreymon let out a small grown in frustration before he let out a sigh.

"I hate to burst this bubble, but Tai has never come in contact with a dark spore. They take effect a few hours after contact with a host and Tai has always been with me. With the gates between the worlds only been opened for a few days after being closed for over a year, it's obvious that this isn't the case."

The group deflated at WarGreymon's statement. He had a good point and this was the best idea they had. T.K. felt Patamon move in his lap and looked down to the hamster bat Digimon.

"Everything alright bud?" T.K. asked him. Patamon looked up and nodded his head.

"Yeah. I was just thinking that maybe the sword that Tai has could be affecting him in a negative way."

Armadillomon jumped up with excitement. "Now, that's a great idea Patamon! Tai did start to act strange when that there sword came into his possession." He said with a proud tone. Patamon let out a laugh while the other Digidestined agreed with the idea.

"It's a good point and it wouldn't hurt to check out this sword more and see what kind of history it has." Matt said. Ken and Cody nodded in agreement. WarGreymon gave a confused look to Matt.

"If the sword was manipulating Tai like this, then why would the Elder Koromon tell Tai to get the sword?" WarGreymon asked. Matt looked down to the ground unsure on what to say.

"Maybe the sword behaves differently with Humans than Digimon?" Yolei said. Ken nodded.

"That is a possibility. We'll just have to check this sword out." Ken said. Gatomon let out a huff as she looked over the group of kids and Digimon.

"Maybe Lilithmon herself is manipulating Tai? Like threatening us to make him do her dirty work. I've seen Myotismon do it so I wouldn't be surprised if Lilithmon is doing a similar thing." Gatomon said. Sora placed her chin in her palm as she thought about what Gatomon said.

"Maybe Tai isn't being manipulated but has no choice but to do what he did. He told us to stay on Earth. What if that was a warning? After he cut of Izzy's arm, he said that he needed medical attention and that we should focus on that. What if Tai had no choice but to join Lilithmon?" Sora asked the group, looking out of the window. The sound the ocean could still be heard from within the warehouse as some of the windows were missing.

"But what about the emotionless state Tai was in?" Cody asked. Matt looked down at his Digivice and gave a small frown.

"Maybe he's not emotionless and Tai's locking up his emotions. It's his way of dealing with all of this." Matt said. Joe nodded his head in agreement.

"That sounds like Tai. And before any of you ask how Lilithmon gave Tai no choice I might have an answer. What if Lilithmon had a way to kill or destroy one of us or maybe a place within the Digital World and that place or person wouldn't be hurt if Tai cooperated. Obvious people that Tai wouldn't want to be hurt would be Kari, WarGreymon and Sora but places like Koromon Village and the Primary Village would also most likely get Tai to give up his will and do their bidding after an agreement was settled." Joe said.

The group sat in silence and thought about everything they had talked about. They had some good points and stuff to go off of but no plan or evidence as to what was really going on. They only had theories.

T.K. looked around the room as everyone fell silent and thought about what they just covered. The least likely scenario with Tai wanting to take revenge on the Digital World Cody seemed to be a bit more passionate about. Whenever Kari or WarGreymon said anything about Tai being controlled like a puppet, while Cody wasn't saying it was an idea that was ridiculous, he was saying that it was the least likely thing to occur and Yolei seemed to agree with him. The ideas that Sora and Ken came up with seem like the most possible but T.K. was unsure of everything. How could they know what was right or wrong? Where could they start? They had no leads or any idea about this Lilithmon and all of this was causing T.K. and headache and some anger. T.K. closed his eyes and wished that this was all a nightmare, or that Izzy could be here to help them out.

"Ok. I think I have a plan." Kari said suddenly, breaking the silence they were all in.

T.K. opened his eyes and looked over to Kari. She had a determined look on her face. Everyone in the large room gave Kari their attention. Kari looked over everyone and gave a small nod.

"I think that Ken, Wormmon, Yolei and Hawkmon should go back to the temple where the sword was found and try to gather any information that they can get. This could help us see if the sword is messing with Tai." Ken and Yolei gave a nod in understanding while Wormmon and Hawkmon said that they understood. Kari looked over to the next group of people.

"Joe, Cody and Armadillomon, I want you to go to the Koromon Village and ask the Elder more about this sword and try to get any information about Lilithmon while you're there, along with the disappearances."

"Aah'm good with that," Armadillomon said as he nodded his head. Joe and Cody nodded in agreement. Kari let out a small laugh and looked over to T.K. and Davis next.

"T.K., Patamon, Davis and Veemon, I want you guys to go to the Village that was destroyed and find out any more information about Lilithmon or if they know anything about the disappearances. Also look out for any signs of the dark spores." T.K. and Davis gave a nod of understanding before they looked at each other and sighed.

This was going to be rough. Patamon and Veemon gave each other a look before they smiled at Kari, letting her knew that they'll be fine. Kari let out a sigh of relief and looked over to Sora.

"Sora, you'll be with WarGreymon, Gatomon and myself. We'll be looking for any traces of Tai and Lilithmon." Sora gave a nod of her head. Matt looked over to Kari with confusion.

"Kari? What about me?" Matt asked. Kari let out a small sigh and looked at Matt.

"We need someone to stay here, look after Izzy's laptop while we go to the Digital World. Go to the hospital and watch over Izzy. We'll be at least 2 hours. While you're at the hospital, try to get in contact with Gennai. Also, let our parents know what's going on. They need to know and with you older ones not having your Digimon partners, it's best for you to stay behind." Kari said with a kind tone. She knew that Matt would want to come but it was better for him to stay behind.

Matt gave Kari a disapproving look. Kari bit her lip and tried to think of a way to help Matt out. Kari's eyes lit up when she came up with an idea.

"Matt, you can use your Digivice and D-Terminal to keep in contact with us and to see how Tai's doing. And because you'll be in a hospital, if anything happens you'll have a doctor there to help you out." Kari said. Matt looked at Kari before he let out a sigh of defeat.

"Ok, I'll stay behind." Matt said. Kari smiled at him and he felt warm inside. Kari was really turning out to be a good leader. She must have learnt it from her brother.

T.K. watched as the group got ready to go to the Digital World. They had a plan and hopefully, they can keep to it and get Tai back soon. Matt looked over everyone and cleared his throat. T.K. looked over to his brother as he gave a small smile.

"I know that we need to save Tai but if you come across him with that sword, please don't engage him. I don't want to see any of you in the hospital with Izzy." Matt said. Everyone nodded in agreement, Kari and WarGreymon being more hesitant.

Matt finished setting up the laptop and the group gathered around the gate. T.K. looked over everyone. When they all gave him a nod he held out his Digivice to the screen.

"DigiPort Open!"

* * *

 **And that's chapter 3 all wrapped up! We have had an appearance form the soccer team of cameos, a doctor cameo (Which will be harder to figure out as I did some changes to make his name fit better) Lilithmon being creepy, her team coming together and the trip to the Digital World! I really enjoyed writing all of this. Thank you for reading and being patient with me for this chapter.**

 **I'll let out know that the next chapter will be out on the 28th of February. Yep! On the last day of every month, a new chapter will be out! I've decided to make a schedule and stick to it. I hope that this will work out.**

 **Thank you for Reading and reviewing this chapter of In The Shadow of Light and I'll see you in Chapter 4: Burning Desire.**

 **See you later!**


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